Elon Musk, the billionaire entrepreneur and prominent advisor to former U.S. President Donald Trump, publicly rejected speculation about acquiring TikTok’s U.S. operations during remarks aired Saturday from a January forum in Germany.
“I’ve not put in a bid for TikTok, and I don’t have plans for what I’d do with it,” Musk stated, adding he rarely uses the platform himself. His comments come as TikTok’s parent company, ByteDance, battles a U.S. law demanding its divestment or face a national ban over data privacy concerns tied to its Chinese ownership.
The controversy traces back to Trump’s final days in office, when he delayed enforcement of the TikTok ban just before his 2020 term ended. Trump later floated Musk—already owner of X (formerly Twitter), Tesla, and SpaceX—as a potential buyer. Musk, however, dismissed the idea, saying he wasn’t “chomping at the bit” to take over the app. Critics note the irony, given Musk’s $44 billion acquisition of Twitter in 2022, which he rebranded as X to champion “free speech.” Since then, watchdogs report surges in hate speech and misinformation on the platform, raising questions about his stewardship of social media.
Musk’s influence extends beyond corporate ventures. As a key architect of Trump’s cost-cutting “Department of Government Efficiency” (DOGE), he has targeted federal agencies for downsizing, focusing on those seen as adversarial to Trump’s agenda. A federal judge recently blocked Musk’s team from accessing sensitive Treasury Department data, citing emergency concerns over privacy risks.
The Tesla CEO also waded into cultural debates, condemning Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) programs as “racism rebranded,” aligning with Trump-era efforts to dismantle such initiatives across federal agencies. “I’m against racism and sexism no matter who it’s directed against,” Musk asserted, despite DEI’s stated goal of addressing systemic inequities.
His political alliances have stirred controversy abroad. In Germany, Musk endorsed the far-right Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) party, known for anti-immigrant rhetoric—a stance that clashes with Germany’s historical aversion to far-right ideologies post-Nazism.
Analysts suggest Musk’s blend of corporate clout, political access, and polarizing rhetoric underscores his unique role in shaping policy and public discourse. Yet his dismissal of TikTok—and the legal pushback against his government reform efforts—highlight the complexities of merging private ambition with public oversight. As debates over free speech, data security, and equity rage on, Musk remains a lightning rod for both admiration and scrutiny.
