Elon Musk, the world’s richest person and a key advisor to U.S. President Donald Trump, clarified on Saturday that despite earlier suggestions, he has no intentions of acquiring TikTok’s operations in the United States.
In comments made via videolink at a German forum in late January, Musk stated, “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.”
His remarks come as TikTok faces a U.S. law mandating it to sever ties with its Chinese parent company, ByteDance, due to national security concerns over the data it collects on U.S. users.
President Trump had previously expressed openness to Musk purchasing the platform, but Musk, who owns social media platform X (formerly Twitter), Tesla, and other companies, made it clear he has no interest in TikTok.
“I don’t use TikTok personally, so, you know, I’m not that familiar with it,” he said, adding, “I’m not chomping at the bit to acquire TikTok.”
Musk’s comments come after he bought Twitter for $44 billion in 2022, renaming it X and positioning the acquisition as a way to protect “free speech.” Since then, critics have raised concerns about an increase in hate speech and disinformation on the platform.
Beyond his business ventures, Musk has been a major financial supporter of Trump’s presidential campaigns and is heading Trump’s budget-slashing initiatives through the “Department of Government Efficiency” (DOGE), which has targeted federal agencies for cuts and staffing reductions, especially those that do not align with Trump’s political agenda.
On Saturday, a U.S. judge issued an emergency order preventing Musk’s reform team from accessing personal and financial data of millions of Americans stored at the Treasury Department.
At the German forum, Musk also criticized Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) initiatives, calling them “simply racism rebranded” and stating, “I’m against racism and sexism no matter who it’s directed against.” Musk’s comments come as U.S. officials push to dismantle DEI programs within the federal government, following Trump’s directive to scale back such initiatives.
Additionally, Musk has expressed support for Germany’s far-right anti-immigration Alternative for Germany (AfD) party, which has raised concerns due to Germany’s sensitive history surrounding its Nazi past.
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