Elon Musk has dismissed speculation that he is interested in acquiring TikTok, the popular social media platform facing scrutiny in the United States over national security concerns tied to its Chinese owner, ByteDance.
Speaking at a conference in Germany last month, Musk made his first public comments on the matter, stating emphatically that he had not placed a bid for TikTok and had no plans to pursue an acquisition.
“I have not put in a bid for TikTok. I don’t have any plans for what I would do if I had TikTok,” Musk said.
Musk’s remarks, published by Die Welt on Saturday, mark his first public comments on the matter. He also noted that he does not use the app personally and prefers to build companies from the ground up rather than acquire existing ones.