Elon Musk, the world’s richest individual and a prominent advisor to former US President Donald Trump, has stated that he has no interest in acquiring TikTok’s operations in the United States. His comments, made during a videolink appearance at a German forum in late January, were released over the weekend.
“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,” Musk clarified, distancing himself from any potential deal for the social media platform.
TikTok is currently under scrutiny in the US, facing a law that mandates the company’s separation from its Chinese parent company, ByteDance, or a potential ban due to concerns over national security and the data it collects on American users.
When Trump assumed office for his second term, he temporarily halted the enforcement of the law that could have seen TikTok banned in the US. Shortly thereafter, Trump expressed openness to Musk, who owns X (formerly Twitter) and Tesla, acquiring TikTok’s US operations. Despite this, Musk has firmly rejected the idea.
“I don’t use TikTok personally, so I’m not that familiar with it,” Musk said. “I’m not chomping at the bit to acquire TikTok.”
Musk’s previous acquisition of Twitter, now X, for $44 billion in 2022 was driven by his stated goal of protecting “free speech.” Since then, however, rights groups have raised concerns about an increase in hate speech and disinformation on the platform.
In addition to his business ventures, Elon Musk was one of Trump’s main financial supporters during his presidential campaign. He is also leading Trump’s efforts to slash the US government’s budget through his “Department of Government Efficiency” (DOGE), which has targeted various federal agencies and regulators in an attempt to downsize and align them with Trump’s political agenda.
On Saturday, a US judge issued an emergency ruling blocking Musk’s reform team from accessing sensitive personal and financial data stored at the Treasury Department, as outlined in court documents.
Musk also made controversial remarks regarding Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) programmes, which aim to support historically marginalised communities. “DEI is simply racism rebranded,” he declared. “I’m against racism and sexism no matter who it’s directed against.”
US officials, under Trump’s guidance, have been working to dismantle DEI initiatives within the federal government, including halting training programmes, cancelling grants, and sidelining numerous employees.
In Germany, Musk has publicly expressed support for the far-right, anti-immigration Alternative for Germany (AfD) party—a stance that has raised concerns, particularly given the country’s sensitive Nazi history.
