Elon Musk snubs interview summons by French prosecutors amid X probe

Elon Musk has not attended a voluntary interview he was summoned to appear at in Paris, according to French authorities probing his platform X.

The company's offices were raided by the Paris prosecutor's cyber-crime unit in February over suspected criminal offences related to content on the platform.

Musk was given the date of 20 April for an interview as part of an investigation first launched in 2025 but later widened over concerns about X's chatbot Grok being used to create non-consensual sexual deepfake images.

The Paris prosecutor's office told the BBC in a statement on Monday - without naming Musk - it had "taken note of the absence of the people summoned".

They added "the presence or absence (of the people summoned) is not an obstacle to continuing the investigation".

When asked for comment earlier on Monday, X pointed the BBC to a post by Musk, written in February, in which he labelled the probe a "political attack".

It comes after the Wall Street Journal reported on Saturday that the US Justice Department told French authorities in a letter it would not assist in their investigation of X.

The Department also accused French authorities of misusing the US justice system, the Journal reported.

Musk, however, responded to a post about the report on X, writing "indeed, this needs to stop".

His failure to attend the interview in Paris on Monday - a date set by prosecutors in February - does not mark the first time he has seemingly snubbed authorities.

The BBC has approached the US Justice Department for comment.

French prosecutors first began investigating X in January 2025 after receiving reports highlighting concerns about its recommended content - in particular, allegations its algorithm had been used to interfere in French politics.

The probe was subsequently widened over concerns about content generated by Grok, including dissemination of Holocaust denial and its ability to edit images of women, and reportedly some children, shared on X to create non-consensual sexual deepfakes.

It prompted a slew of regulatory and legal action against X and its parent company xAI in the UK, EU and around the world.

Prosecutors in Paris said in February they were investigating X over a range of suspected offences.

These included complicity in possession or organised distribution of child sexual abuse material, infringement of people's image rights with sexual deepfakes and suspected fraudulent data extraction by an organised group.

X has previously denied any wrongdoing and described the allegations as "baseless".

In a statement at the time the company said: "Today's staged raid reinforces our conviction that this investigation distorts French law, circumvents due process, and endangers free speech.

"X it is committed to defending its fundamental rights and the rights of its users."

Linda Yaccarino, X's former chief executive, was also summoned to a voluntary interview in Paris alongside Musk in April - having been in her role during the period prosecutors said suspected offences occurred.

She echoed Musk's criticism of the raid and initial summons, previously accusing French prosecutors of carrying out "a political vendetta against Americans" in a post on X.

Additional reporting by Paul Pradier and Philippa Wain