X: Raid in Paris – Musk’s SpaceX now indirectly involved
The French offices of Elon Musk’s social media platform X (formerly Twitter) were searched by the Paris public prosecutor’s office. The investigation was conducted by the authority’s cybercrime unit as well as Europol and French police. The allegations center on Holocaust denial and sexualized deepfakes.
The prosecutor’s office announced that the investigation began a year ago. Initially, content recommended by the platform’s algorithm was analyzed. Later, the focus was expanded to include the controversial AI chatbot Grok.
Musk summoned for questioning
Both Musk and former X CEO Linda Yaccarino were summoned for hearings on April 20, as the prosecutor’s office stated. X has not yet commented on the raid, but had previously interpreted the investigation as an attack on freedom of speech. When the investigation was expanded in July 2025, X called it “politically motivated” in a post and denied allegations of algorithm manipulation.
Allegations range from data extraction to sexual deepfakes
The prosecutor’s office is now investigating whether X has violated laws in several areas. The allegations include aiding in the possession or organized distribution of child sexual abuse material, violation of image rights through sexual deepfakes, fraudulent data extraction, and Holocaust denial.
Musk’s platform has recently come under intense scrutiny over sexualized images generated and edited using the AI tool Grok on the site. The images — often created using real photos of women without their consent — triggered a wave of criticism from those affected, activists, and politicians.
xAI acquisition and planned SpaceX IPO
The raid comes at a critical moment. Elon Musk’s SpaceX has just acquired his AI company xAI and is launching the largest IPO in history. This merger brings the satellite internet service Starlink and SpaceX rockets together with the heavily criticized xAI products Grok and X.
X now falls legally and organizationally under the conglomerate, which aims to combine space travel, satellite networks, AI research, and digital communication in the long term. This means that SpaceX — although originally a space company — will in the future also be indirectly responsible for business areas like the social network X. Legal problems at X could further damage the already tarnished image and spill over to SpaceX as the parent company.
EU and UK also investigating
At the end of January, the European Commission also launched an investigation against xAI over concerns regarding deepfake images. Austria’s media authority KommAustria supports the proceedings. A similar investigation was previously started by British regulator Ofcom.
