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Tech billionaire Elon Musk failed to appear for a voluntary interview in Paris on Monday as part of a French investigation into his social media platform, X.
Prosecutors told AFP they had “taken note of the absence of the individuals summoned,” without mentioning Musk by name.
Weeks earlier, the billionaire had referred to French authorities as “retards” in a French-language post on X.
“The presence or absence of those summoned is not an obstacle to continuing the investigation,” prosecutors added.
French authorities issued a summons for Musk in February as part of a probe launched in January 2025 into allegations that X’s algorithm was used to interfere in French politics.
The investigation was later expanded to include X’s AI chatbot, Grok, over alleged dissemination of Holocaust denial content and sexualised deepfakes.
In early February, French prosecutors searched X’s Paris offices. The company, which denies any wrongdoing, described the move as “politicised” and an “abusive judicial act.”
At the time, prosecutors also summoned Musk and then-CEO Linda Yaccarino for voluntary interviews as the “de facto and de jure managers of the platform at the time of the events,” a move Musk criticised as a “political attack.”
Yaccarino resigned as CEO of X in July last year after two years in the role.
In February, Paris prosecutor Laure Beccuau said X employees had also been asked to appear between April 20 and 24 to be heard as witnesses.
However, the Paris prosecutor’s office reiterated on Saturday that attendance for voluntary questioning is not required for the investigation to proceed.
Officials have not disclosed the time or location of Musk’s scheduled interview.
The investigation centres on several suspected criminal offences, including complicity in the possession of child sexual abuse material and the denial of crimes against humanity.
In July, X described the probe as “politically motivated.”
