No offer
Elon Musk has no interest in buying TikTok
Tech billionaire Elon Musk is taking the wind out of the sails of speculation that he could buy TikTok's US business. He has not submitted an offer for TikTok, Musk said in a question and answer session at the "Welt" business summit.
Kronen Zeitung als bevorzugte Google-Quelle hinzufügen The comments were made on January 28, but were only published by the newspaper at the weekend. A week earlier, US President Donald Trump had said in response to a journalist's question that he would be open to Musk buying the video app.
This was triggered by media reports that the Chinese government was considering the option of selling TikTok to Musk. Tesla, the electric car manufacturer led by Musk, has a large factory in Shanghai and is heavily reliant on the Chinese market.
The clock is ticking
Time is running out for TikTok in the USA. A law passed last year stipulated that China-based TikTok owner ByteDance had to divest from TikTok by January 19 in order for the app to remain available in the US. Trump postponed the deadline by 75 days after taking office - but also insists that the service must come under American control.
In the US, there are warnings that the Chinese government could use TikTok to collect information about American users and influence public opinion. TikTok rejects this.
"No plans"
Musk also said at the World Economic Summit: "I have no plans for what I would do if I had TikTok." He would probably look at the app's algorithm to decide how harmful or useful it is and how it could be changed so that it would be "more to the benefit of humanity".
Musk bought the short messaging service Twitter more than two years ago and turned it into the online platform X. His changes included softening the rules for permitted content. He himself does not use TikTok, said Musk.
Newspaper: Amazon and Microsoft interested
Meanwhile, according to the Wall Street Journal, Microsoft, Amazon and the software company Oracle are among those positioning themselves as interested in TikTok or the app's US business. Instead of a sale, TikTok is trying to get Washington interested in a joint venture with US investors, according to sources close to the matter.
The proposal revolves around "Project Texas", a plan that has been running for years to store the data of US users in the USA and set up protective measures against misuse. The promises were not enough for Trump's predecessor Joe Biden's administration.
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