Musk Defies Paris Prosecutor as DOJ Slams Door on French X Probe

The DOJ has declined to assist French prosecutors, calling the case an attempt to regulate an American company through criminal law.

(Left) SpaceX and Tesla CEO Elon Musk at the Vivatech technology startups and innovation fair at the Porte de Versailles exhibition center in Paris on June 16, 2023. (Right) The X logo, pictured on a screen in Paris on July 24, 2023. Alain Jocard/AFP via Getty Images

PARIS—Elon Musk did not appear Monday before the Paris prosecutor’s office, which had summoned him for a voluntary hearing in a criminal investigation targeting his platform X.

The prosecutor’s office confirmed the no-show the same day, stating it “takes note of the absence of the first persons summoned” and that “their presence or absence is not an obstacle to the continuation of the investigations.”