Elon Musk summoned to Paris by the public prosecutor over extremely serious allegations — and yet…

Will the world’s richest man, Elon Musk — sitting on nearly $750 billion and laying down the law across countless sectors — be treated like any ordinary suspect, and dealt with accordingly?

That is what Paris is set to determine on 20 April.

The tech tycoon, along with Linda Yaccarino, the former chief executive of X, has been summoned to appear in Paris on that date.

They are to be heard “as part of voluntary interviews (…) in their capacity as the de facto and de jure managers of the X platform at the time of the events,” according to Laure Beccuau, the public prosecutor at the Paris court.

The magistrate added that “a search is being carried out today, Tuesday, at the French premises of the X platform.”

These developments follow investigations opened in early 2025, triggered by reports from members of parliament who pointed to allegedly biased algorithms on the social network X and suspected that the platform’s operation had been manipulated…

But as the inquiry progressed, suspicions of other, more serious offences emerged, including: “aiding and abetting the possession of pornographic images involving minors; aiding and abetting the dissemination, offering or making available, as part of an organised group, of pornographic images involving minors; sexually explicit deepfakes; and denialism.” Heavy allegations.

Musk and Ms Yaccarino are not the only ones in the sights of the judiciary. The prosecutor said that “employees of the X platform have also been summoned during the week of 20 to 24 April 2026 to be heard as witnesses.”

Laure Beccuau added that “the voluntary interviews of the executives will enable them to set out their position on the facts and, where appropriate, the compliance measures they intend to implement.”

If the authorities have opted for “voluntary interviews” for all those involved, it is for the following reason: “At this stage, this investigation is being conducted in a constructive spirit, with the aim of ultimately ensuring that the X platform complies with French law, insofar as it operates on national territory.”

In other words, the French justice system appears to be taking a conciliatory approach with Elon Musk despite the gravity of the allegations. The question remains: will that be enough to persuade X’s owner to show up in Paris?

The ongoing search is being carried out in cooperation with the national cyber unit of the gendarmerie, with Europol present.

Musk in Paris to explain himself over allegations of this magnitude — we will have to wait and see. What is certain is that the friend of US President Donald Trump — their relationship having cooled since their 2025 battles — is no longer in favour in Europe, and for good reason: he is accused of seeking to bring down “old” and “dusty” democracies to clear the way for an international far-right movement. And everything he does on his social network X, critics say, points in that direction.

And yet, things seemed to be off to a strong start in May 2023, when he struck a deal with President Emmanuel Macron to invest heavily in France. It appears, however, that Musk’s appetite for overturning the social order proved stronger.

The fact that, the last time the Élysée invited him to Paris — for the Artificial Intelligence Summit — he boycotted the event, is telling. This time, it is the judiciary calling. What will he do?

The same allegedly biased algorithms — seen as fuelling the poison of fake news and disinformation — are also under scrutiny by the European Union. France’s fight is also that of most of the EU’s 27 member states, with the notable exception of Italy, Hungary and Slovakia — countries governed by parties highly receptive to the ideas championed by Trump and Musk.

There is a strong likelihood that, after his Paris date with France, the American multibillionaire’s troubles on the Old Continent will intensify — especially if he ignores judicial summonses and refuses to comply with orders aimed at bringing his social network back within the bounds of propriety and accepted standards.