"Twitter Acquisition Was to Protect Freedom of Expression"
Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla, stated that he has no plans to acquire the Chinese short video platform 'TikTok' and announced that he will release an AI model better than China's AI DeepSeek, which surprised the world.
On the 8th (local time), the German daily Die Welt released a video of Musk saying, "I have never bid for TikTok," and "Even if I acquire TikTok, I have no plans for what to do next." Regarding his acquisition of Twitter in 2022 and renaming it X, he said it was an exceptional case "to protect freedom of expression" and added, "I have no intention of acquiring TikTok."
Major foreign media reported that Musk made these remarks via video at an event hosted by a German media outlet last month. Citing anonymous sources, foreign media reported that "Chinese officials are evaluating the possibility of handing over TikTok's U.S. operations to Musk, a close associate of former U.S. President Donald Trump," and that "one of the scenarios is for X to take control of TikTok's U.S. operations and run them together."
Earlier, TikTok's service in the U.S. was temporarily suspended on the 19th of last month due to the U.S. 'TikTok Ban Act.' However, the possibility of a sale has emerged after President Trump issued an executive order to delay the TikTok ban for 75 days shortly after taking office.
On the 27th of last month, President Trump told reporters, "Microsoft (MS) is negotiating to acquire TikTok," and added, "I want to see a bidding competition for TikTok."
President Trump also proposed allowing TikTok's U.S. operations but transferring 50% of the shares to the U.S. side, and mentioned that options such as the American software company Oracle or Musk acquiring TikTok are also open. However, TikTok's parent company ByteDance has publicly maintained a stance rejecting the sale of TikTok and is reportedly seeking alternatives.
Additionally, in the video interview, Musk commented on the AI model developed by the Chinese startup DeepSeek, saying, "Is that the AI revolution? No," and "xAI (a company operated by Musk) and other companies will soon release models better than DeepSeek."
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