Casablanca – French prosecutors say they have alerted US authorities over suspicions that Elon Musk may have encouraged controversy around sexualized deepfakes on X to artificially boost the value of his companies.
The Paris prosecutor’s office said the backlash linked to Grok, X’s AI chatbot, “may have been deliberately generated” to raise the valuation of X and X AI ahead of a planned June 2026 stock market listing tied to a new entity formed with SpaceX.
The disclosure confirms a report first published by Le Monde. Prosecutors said they sent information on March 17 to the US Department of Justice through France’s international legal cooperation office, and also contacted French lawyers at the Securities and Exchange Commission.
The concerns come as French authorities continue a broader investigation into X. That probe includes allegations of political interference through its algorithm, the spread of Holocaust denial content, and the circulation of sexualized deepfakes.
Read also: Elon Musk Denies Explicit Image Claims as Grok AI Triggers Worldwide Investigations
Grok became a focal point earlier this year after users were able to tag the chatbot to generate and edit images directly on the platform. Many used it to create altered images of women, often without consent, with prompts asking to change clothing or remove it entirely.
According to the Center for Countering Digital Hate, the tool generated around three million sexualized images in just 11 days. About 23,000 appeared to involve minors.
Le Monde also pointed to several posts by Musk during the peak of the controversy. Prosecutors interpret them as possible incitement. The billionaire publicly reacted with enthusiasm to Grok’s image capabilities and even shared a modified image of himself produced by the chatbot.
At the same time, Grok’s popularity surged. Data cited by The Washington Post shows global downloads jumped 72% in early January compared to the previous month.
French authorities have already summoned Musk for a voluntary interview and searched X’s local offices. Musk dismissed the move as a political attack.
Investigations are also underway in Britain and across the European Union, as regulators examine how far platforms are responsible for AI-generated content.
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