WASHINGTON – Mr Elon Musk said he isn’t interested in buying TikTok, the popular social video app the US has tried to ban over national security concerns with its Chinese owner Bytedance Ltd.

He made the comments – his first on the topic of him buying TikTok – at a conference in Germany hosted by Mathias Doepfner, the billionaire chief executive of German media conglomerate AxelSpringer, last month.

“I have not put in a bid for TikTok,” Mr Musk said, joining the conference remotely via video, which was made public on Feb 8. “I don’t have any plans for what would I do if I had TikTok.”

Mr Musk said that he doesn’t use TikTok personally.

“I’m not chomping at the bit to acquire TikTok,” said Mr Musk, who bought Twitter in 2022 before renaming the social media service X. “I usually build companies from scratch.”

Bloomberg News in January reported that Chinese officials were evaluating the possibility that would allow the world’s richest person and close ally of President Donald Trump to acquire the US operations of TikTok if the company fails to fend off a ban. Under one scenario, Mr Musk’s X would take control of TikTok US and run the business together, people familiar with the matter told Bloomberg.

On Mr Trump’s first day in office, he signed an executive order that temporarily halted a forced sale or shutdown of TikTok, giving the company and its Chinese parent more time to reach a deal. The order came hours after Mr Trump’s inauguration, which was attended by Bytedance CEO Shou Chew.

The order marked the latest turn in a years-long effort in Washington to ban the app over security concerns. Mr Trump – who advocated in favor of a ban during his first term – changed his mind after the app helped him win over younger voters. “We won the young vote. I think I won it through TikTok, so I have a warm spot in my heart for TikTok,” he said.

Mr Musk, like Mr Trump, could always change his mind.

Mr Trump has said he would be open Mr Musk, who donated more than US$250 million (S$338 million) to his presidential campaign, or Oracle Chairman Larry Ellison purchasing the app as a part of a joint venture with the US government. This week, Mr Trump also signed a separate executive order he said would direct officials t...