Elon Musk, the world’s richest person with a net worth of $841.1 billion, posted a questionable message on his social media platform X that highlighted the adage about wealth and well-being. “Whoever said ‘money can’t buy happiness’ really knew what they were talking about,” Musk wrote, adding a sad face emoji to the end of the statement. The post arrived shortly after French authorities conducted a raid on X’s offices in Paris, intensifying an ongoing investigation into the platform’s operations and marking a notable moment in the broader European push to hold technology giants accountable for content moderation, data practices, and the integration of artificial intelligence.
Whoever said “money can’t buy happiness” really knew what they were talking about 😔
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) February 5, 2026
The raid took place on February 3, 2026, and was carried out by the Paris prosecutor’s cybercrime unit with France’s national police cybercrime division and Europol. Prosecutors said it stemmed from a probe launched more than a year earlier into suspected algorithm abuse and fraudulent data extraction by X or its executives. The investigation has since expanded to include allegations related to child sexual abuse imagery, sexually explicit deepfakes, illegal platform operations, data manipulation by an organized group, and the spread of Holocaust denial and antisemitic content.
Prosecutors have summoned Elon Musk and X’s former chief executive, Linda Yaccarino, to a hearing on April 20, 2026, over their roles during the period under investigation. Yaccarino stepped down in July 2025, and other current and former staff have been called as witnesses. Musk described the raid as a “political attack,” while X accused prosecutors of an “abusive act” that “endangers free speech,” denying any wrongdoing.
This is a political attack https://t.co/Z204wJuQIr
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) February 3, 2026
The probe began in January 2025 after a complaint by French lawmaker Éric Bothorel, who alleged that biased algorithms distorted X’s automated systems. He said changes following Musk’s 2022 acquisition reduced content diversity and amplified offensive political material. By July 2025, the investigation expanded to include Grok, the AI chatbot developed by Musk’s xAI and integrated into X. Bothorel said the raid showed his complaint was producing results.
The case reflects a broader regulatory push across Europe targeting major technology firms over child safety, AI, and content moderation. The United Kingdom has launched a separate investigation into data use in developing Grok, while Spain has moved to restrict social media access for users under 16 and impose criminal liability on executives. The developments highlight growing transatlantic tensions over digital platform governance and intensifying pressure on Musk, whose business empire includes Tesla, SpaceX, and xAI making him supposedly unhappy with his fortune.
