Elon Musk, owner of the social network X, in Oakland, California, on April 30, 2026. MANUEL ORBEGOZO/REUTERS
On Friday, May 8, Elon Musk posted a cartoon image of himself smoking an enormous joint on his X account, before launching into a provocative tirade in French against the judges overseeing the investigation into his social media platform, X. "They're faker than a chocolate euro and queerer than a pink flamingo in a neon tutu!" he wrote to his 240 million followers, before adding a quote from the film Monty Python and the Holy Grail, which he is known to admire: "Go away or I shall taunt you a second time!"
The insults come as Musk faces an ongoing investigation in France. On April 20, he failed to appear for a voluntary interview requested by the head of the Paris prosecutor's cybercrime unit, which is leading a broad investigation into X. The probe has continued to widen, notably following the launch of Grok, X's artificial intelligence chatbot. Investigators are examining allegations, including the manipulation of public opinion, denial of crimes against humanity and complicity in the possession and distribution of child sexual abuse material.
In a statement published the evening of Thursday, May 7, the Paris prosecutor's office said it would request that investigating judges bring charges against the companies xAI Holdings Corp., X Corp. and xAI, as well as Musk and Linda Yaccarino, the CEO of X until summer 2025, "by summoning them for this purpose and to gather their comments, or, in the event of non-compliance, by issuing a warrant equivalent to an indictment." The statement added: "Once again, it is emphasized that this procedure (...) aims to uphold the law and to protect individuals who have been victims of criminal offenses, both online and in real life."
