During a virtual meeting at the WELT Economic Summit on January 28, Elon Musk, the CEO of Tesla and SpaceX, confirmed that he is not interested in purchasing the video-sharing platform TikTok. Musk stated that he has not submitted a bid for TikTok and currently has no plans regarding the platform.
TikTok, a Chinese-owned app with approximately 170 million monthly American users, faced a potential ban on January 20 due to national security concerns. However, former President Donald Trump granted TikTok's parent company, ByteDance, a 75-day extension to find a non-Chinese buyer. This extension was a condition outlined in a bill signed by former President Joe Biden in April.
While ByteDance has expressed that they do not intend to sell TikTok, various investors, including YouTube and TikTok influencer MrBeast, Kevin O'Leary, and Frank McCourt, have publicly shown interest in acquiring the platform.
Despite acquiring Twitter for $44 billion in 2022 and renaming it X, Musk emphasized that he is not typically inclined to acquire companies, deeming it as 'highly unusual.' He clarified that the acquisition of Twitter was driven by the importance of preserving freedom of speech in America, a rationale that may not necessarily apply to TikTok.
It was speculated that Musk, as the world's richest man, could potentially be a bidder for TikTok. However, Musk's recent actions with X, such as reducing safety teams, dismantling content moderation policies, and allowing the return of White supremacists and misinformation peddlers to the platform, have led to user and advertiser exodus.
