Elon Musk, the billionaire businessman and owner of X (formerly Twitter), has stated that he has no interest in purchasing TikTok’s U.S. operations.
His comment came during a forum in Germany last month and was made public over the weekend.
The U.S. government has ordered TikTok to separate from its Chinese parent company, ByteDance, due to security concerns.
President Donald Trump, in one of his first moves after returning to office, paused the enforcement of this order.
Trump later suggested that Musk could consider buying TikTok, but Musk dismissed the idea, saying he does not use the platform and has no plans for it.
Musk acquired Twitter for $44 billion in 2022, claiming his goal was to protect free speech.
However, critics argued that since his takeover, hate speech and misinformation have increased on the platform.
Apart from his business dealings, Musk has been involved in government matters.
He leads the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), an initiative under Trump’s administration aimed at cutting costs by reducing federal agencies and staff.
Recently, a U.S. judge blocked his team from accessing financial data stored at the Treasury Department.
During the German forum, Musk also criticized Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) programs, calling them a form of discrimination.
His views align with Trump’s efforts to remove DEI policies from federal institutions.