Elon Musk has stated that he does not intend to step in as TikTok’s savior in the United States, dispelling rumors that he might be interested in acquiring the popular social media platform. According to Business Insider, Musk clarified his position during a virtual appearance at a business conference in Germany hosted by Axel Springer, the parent company of Business Insider. Musk emphasized, “I have not actually put in a bid for TikTok and I don’t have any plans for what would I do if I had TikTok.”

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The dialogue surrounding TikTok’s ownership comes amid increasing pressures from the U.S. government for ByteDance, the app’s Chinese owner, to divest from TikTok. A law enacted last year under former President Joe Biden mandates this divestment due to concerns over the national security risk posed by the app’s Chinese ownership. Earlier this year, the Supreme Court upheld the legislation, and former President Donald Trump further tightened the timeline by signing an executive order requiring ByteDance to find a buyer within 75 days or face a ban.

While the market for acquiring TikTok remains contentious, with several potential buyers like “Shark Tank” investor Kevin O’Leary and former Dodgers owner Frank McCourt expressing interest, Musk remarked that he does not see a compelling reason to acquire TikTok aside from financial motivations. “I don’t acquire things just for economic reasons. So it’s not clear to me what the purpose of acquiring TikTok would be apart from economics,” Musk explained, highlighting the challenges and his rationale behind his 2022 acquisition of Twitter, now rebranded as X.

Data from the IndexBox platform shows that the U.S. short-form video market is projected to grow steadily, making TikTok a valuable asset regardless of ownership. However, if ByteDance does not find a buyer and no interventions are made by April, TikTok could potentially shut down in the U.S., significantly impacting millions of users and content creators reliant on the platform.

Source: IndexBox Market Intelligence Platform