X boss Elon Musk has revealed that he has dropped out of the race to buy video streaming platform TikTok.
Musk said he’s not really interested in the app and noted that he doesn’t “have any plans for what would I do if I had TikTok.”
It comes despite recent speculation about Musk moving to acquire the U.S. operations of China’s TikTok.
Bloomberg reports that Musk clarified his stance on China’s TikTok during a recent interview at a conference in Germany hosted by Axel Springer CEO Mathias Doepfner.
TikTok has been facing national security concerns due to its Chinese ownership under Bytedance.
Musk’s comments mark his first public statement on the topic of potentially buying TikTok.
Joining the conference remotely via video, Musk said:
“I have not put in a bid for TikTok.
“I don’t have any plans for what would I do if I had TikTok.”
He further emphasized that he doesn’t use the app personally.
The tech billionaire admitted that he is “not chomping at the bit to acquire TikTok.”
His remarks come amidst reports that Chinese officials were considering the possibility of allowing Musk, a close ally of President Donald Trump, to acquire TikTok’s U.S. operations.
Bytdance must sell TikTok’s U.S. operations if the company fails to prevent a ban.
One potential scenario involved Musk’s company, X taking control of TikTok U.S. and running the business together.
When rumors of Musk buying TikTok first surfaced, X Copp called them “pure fiction.”
Meanwhile, the future of TikTok in the United States has been uncertain.
The app facing a years-long effort in Washington to ban it over security concerns.
On his first day in office, Trump signed an executive order temporarily halting a forced sale or shutdown of TikTok.
The move sought to give the company and its Chinese parent more time to reach a deal.
This marked a shift in Trump’s stance, as he had previously advocated for a ban during his first term.
However, he later changed his mind after the app helped him win over younger voters.
The president has also noted that banning TikTok would allow Mark Zuckerberg’s Meta to increase its dominance with Facebook and Instagram.
While ByteDance has publicly refused to sell TikTok, prospective buyers hope that the Supreme Court’s ruling in support of a national security law forcing the company to either sell or shutter the service in the US could push it to reconsider.
However, any transaction would also require approval from the Chinese government.
During the interview, Musk also addressed his plans to compete with the new app DeepSeek.
The app is an artificial intelligence chatbot released by Chinese software company DeepSeek.
Musk stated that his own AI company, xAI, and others will soon be releasing models that surpass DeepSeek’s capabilities.
READ MORE – Wuhan Bioweapons Scientist Blows Whistle: Covid Was ‘Engineered’ to Depopulate
