Elon Musk has made it clear that he has no interest in purchasing TikTok. During a virtual discussion at the WELT Economic Summit on January 28, Musk stated, “I haven’t made an offer for TikTok, and I don’t have any plans for what I would do if I owned it.”
The Chinese-owned app, which has around 170 million active users in the U.S., was facing a potential ban as of January 20 due to concerns over national security. However, former President Donald Trump gave the app a temporary reprieve, delaying the ban for 75 days. This extension provides TikTok more time to find a buyer from outside China, a requirement set by the bill signed by President Joe Biden last April.
Although ByteDance, TikTok’s parent company, has indicated it does not plan to sell, some investors have shown interest in buying. Among them are YouTube and TikTok star MrBeast (Jimmy Donaldson), “Shark Tank” investor Kevin O’Leary, and former Los Angeles Dodgers owner Frank McCourt. Despite speculation, Musk, who is the world’s richest individual, has distanced himself from the idea of acquiring the platform.
In 2022, Elon Musk finalized a $44 billion deal to acquire Twitter, which he later rebranded as X. Despite this high-profile acquisition, Musk stated that he is not typically interested in purchasing companies, describing such actions as “highly unusual.”
He explained that his reason for acquiring Twitter was to “preserve freedom of speech in America,” but he is unsure if the same reasoning would apply to TikTok. Musk also emphasized, “I don’t acquire things just for economic reasons,” adding that he doesn’t see a clear purpose in buying TikTok other than for financial gain.
According to Wedbush Securities analyst Dan Ives, TikTok’s U.S. assets, excluding its algorithm, are valued between $40 billion and $50 billion. However, much of the app’s true worth lies in its algorithm, making it difficult to assign a precise value. Musk acknowledged that any potential buyer would first need to examine TikTok’s algorithm, as it heavily influences the user experience. He further stated that, if he were to consider it, he would assess the algorithm’s impact to determine whether it is “harmful or useful.”
Neither Tesla nor SpaceX provided a response to inquiries about the matter.