Elon Musk did not appear Monday for a voluntary interview with Paris prosecutors investigating alleged misconduct involving his social media platform X and its Grok chatbot.
Prosecutors told the AFP news agency that they had “noted the absence of those who have been called”, without naming Musk directly.
French authorities issued a summons to Musk in February as part of an investigation launched in January 2025. The Paris cybercrime unit is investigating X’s algorithm amid allegations it was used to interfere in French politics, as well as the spread of sexual deepfakes generated on the platform.
Musk has denied the allegations and described the investigation as a “politically motivated criminal investigation.”
What are French prosecutors investigating?
French authorities began the investigation after a French lawmaker raised concerns that X’s algorithms could be biased or manipulated, which could distort public debate and enable foreign interference.
The investigation expanded following reports that Grok, X’s AI chatbot, created posts denying the Holocaust, which is illegal in France, and created sexually explicit deepfakes.
Prosecutors are now investigating:
- Possible ‘collusion’ in possession and distribution of child sexual abuse material
- The spread of sexually explicit deepfakes
- denial of crimes against humanity
- Manipulation of an automated data system as part of an organized group
“The purpose of these voluntary interviews with officials is to allow them to present their position regarding the facts and, where appropriate, the compliance measures they plan to implement,” prosecutors said.
Grok material comes under scrutiny
Grok sparked global outrage earlier this year after generating large numbers of non-consensual, sexualized deepfake images in response to user requests.
In January, Grok created an estimated 3 million such images in just 11 days, According to the nonprofit Center for Countering Digital Hate (CCDH). The nonprofit watchdog says most of those featured are women, but about 23,000 involve minors.
Following the backlash, X restricted some of Grok’s image creation features, including the ability to create “undressing” edits.
On the Holocaust, Grok claimed in a widely shared post in French that the gas chambers at Auschwitz were used for “disinfection” rather than mass murder, language commonly associated with Holocaust denial.
The chatbot later corrected itself, saying that the post was incorrect and has been removed. It cited historical evidence that gas chambers were used to kill more than one million people at Auschwitz.
Grok faces international backlash
In February, French investigators also searched the Paris offices of X. Paris prosecutor Laure Becu also said that company employees were subpoenaed to appear as witnesses between April 20 and 24.
The prosecutor’s office said the investigation would continue even if those summoned did not appear.
The company denied any wrongdoing, calling the raid “politicized” and “outrageous”.
The European Union in January launched an investigation into Grok’s Generation X sexual deepfakes involving women and children.
In February, the UK Data Protection Authority also launched a separate investigation into X and XAI, citing “serious concerns” over whether the companies complied with personal data laws.
Edited by: Rana Taha