In a surprising turn of events billionaire Elon Musk has revealed that he’s not interested in buying TikTok despite speculation and political pressure. Musk made these comments in late January which were released online on Saturday by The WELT Group.
So what behind Musk decision? Apparently he doesn’t have any plans for what he would do with TikTok if he had it. He also mentioned that he doesn’t use the app personally and isn’t familiar with its format. Musk added that he is not in the habit of acquiring companies and his billion-dollar acquisition of Twitter (now called X) was an unusual move. He prefers to build companies from scratch.
This news comes after US President Donald Trump said he was open to Musk buying TikTok. Trump had also signed an executive order seeking to delay the enforcement of a ban on the app which was slated to be shuttered on January 19. ByteDance TikTok’s parent company was given a January deadline to sell the app US assets or face a ban.
TikTok has been at the center of a national security controversy with lawmakers concerned that China could compel the company to share US user data. However TikTok has denied that it has or ever would share US user data. Despite this Apple and Google have not reinstated TikTok to their app stores since a US law took effect.
In a bid to circumvent restrictions TikTok is allowing US Android users to download and connect to the app through package kits on its website. Trump has said that he’s in talks with multiple people over TikTok’s purchase and will likely have a decision on the app future this month. TikTok has about 170 million American users.
Interestingly Trump has had a change of heart about TikTok. During his first term in office he sought to ban the app over concerns about data sharing with the Chinese government. However he now says he has a warm spot in his heart for TikTok crediting the app with helping him win over young voters in the 2024 presidential election.
