Elon Musk says he has no plans to buy TikTok’s US operations

  • Musk told conference attendees via video in Germany last month
  • The video became available to the public on Saturday
  • Trump helping create a sovereign wealth fund that could buy TikTok
Elon Musk greets President Donald Trump as he arrives to watch SpaceX's Starship lift off in Texas on Nov. 19, 2024.

Elon Musk greets President Donald Trump as he arrives to watch SpaceX’s mega rocket Starship lift off for a test flight from Starbase in Boca Chica, Texas, Tuesday, Nov. 19, 2024. (Brandon Bell/Pool via AP)

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Elon Musk is unlikely to buy TikTok’s U.S. business, according to the man himself.

Speaking virtually at a conference in Germany last month, Musk said he didn’t envisage purchasing the social media app that has until April 5 to sell its U.S. assets or face being banned once again.

“I have not put in a bid for TikTok,” Musk told the conference, hosted by German billionaire Mathias Doepfner. “I don’t have any plans for what would I do if I had TikTok.

“I’m not chomping at the bit to acquire TikTok,” he added. “I usually build companies from scratch.”

Musk veered from this modus operandi to purchase Twitter, now referred to as X, back in 2022.

President Donald Trump directed secretaries to begin a process to create an American sovereign wealth fund, suggesting it could partially own TikTok.

The president signed an executive order in the Oval Office to have Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Commerce Secretary nominee Howard Lutnick create and lead such a fund.

“It’s a very exciting event. We’re going to have a sovereign wealth fund, which we’ve never had,” the president said.

“We have a lot of things that create wealth and you’re seeing that over the last two weeks, I think we’ve created more wealth.”

NewsNation affiliate The Hill contributed to this report

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