Elon Musk denies interest in acquiring TikTok, saying he doesn’t use the app
In this photo illustration, the TikTok logo is displayed on an iPhone screen on December 06, 2024 in San Anselmo, California, U.S. (AFP Photo)
The world’s richest businessperson, Elon Musk, stated on Saturday that he has no intention of purchasing TikTok’s U.S. operations, admitting that he is unfamiliar with the popular app.
“I’ve not put in a bid for TikTok and I don’t have any plans for what I would do if I had TikTok,” said Musk in comments made via a video link at a German forum in late January that was released on the weekend.
TikTok is facing a U.S. law that ordered the company to break off from its Chinese owner ByteDance, or otherwise be banned in the United States over national security concerns regarding the data it gathers on users.
In one of his first acts in office, Trump ordered a pause on enforcing the law that should have seen TikTok effectively made illegal in the country a day before he took office for a second term.
‘I don’t use TikTok’
Soon after, Trump said he would be open to Musk—the owner of social media platform X, Tesla, and a slew of other companies—buying the platform.
Musk, however, said he did not wish to acquire the company. “I don’t use TikTok personally, so, you know, I’m not that familiar with it,” he said. “I’m not champing at the bit to acquire TikTok.”
Musk bought social media giant Twitter, which he renamed X, for $44 billion in 2022, insisting he was doing so to safeguard “free speech.” Since his takeover, rights campaigners warn there has been a spike in hate speech and disinformation on the platform.
Musk was one of Trump’s main financial backers in his presidential campaign and is heading the U.S. president’s budget-slashing initiatives. His “Department of Government Efficiency” (DOGE) has targeted a range of federal government agencies and regulators, with the apparent intent of shutting them down and firing staff.
On Saturday, a U.S. judge issued an emergency order blocking Musk’s government reform team from accessing personal and financial data for millions of Americans stored at the Treasury Department, court documents showed.
