Musk Eyes Vine Revival Amid TikTok Ban Fallout
Elon Musk is exploring the possibility of resurrecting Vine, the once-popular short-form video platform, as uncertainty looms over TikTok’s future in the United States. The billionaire entrepreneur’s recent comments have sparked both market speculation and renewed interest in the defunct app that was discontinued in 2017.
“We’re looking into it,” Musk responded when asked on X about bringing back Vine to fill the potential void left by TikTok’s uncertain status. This simple statement, as reported by AfroTech, has reignited discussions about the future of short-form video content in America.
The timing of Musk’s interest coincides with ongoing regulatory pressure on TikTok’s Chinese parent company ByteDance, which faces a potential ban unless it divests its American operations to U.S. interests.
Vine’s Legacy and Potential Return
Vine, which allowed users to create looping videos of just six seconds, was a pioneer in the short-form video space before TikTok’s emergence. Launched in 2012 and acquired by Twitter for $30 million shortly thereafter, the platform helped launch the careers of several internet personalities, including Danny Gonzalez, Kurtis Conner, and Jake and Logan Paul.
Musk technically already owns Vine’s rights and code through his 2022 acquisition of Twitter (now X), according to ComicBook. This ownership gives him a unique advantage in potentially reviving the service, as he wouldn’t need to negotiate new acquisition deals.
This isn’t the first time Musk has floated the idea of bringing back Vine. In October 2022, shortly after acquiring Twitter, he reportedly instructed engineers to explore rebuilding the platform. He also conducted a poll on X where users expressed strong interest in seeing the service return.
5 days until TikTok is wiped out of US App stores again.
— Cali ✨️💜✨️ (@CaliCaliSue) April 1, 2025
Whose gonna replace it for American Content Creators?
Vine.
It's inevitable 🌱 pic.twitter.com/i0bCP27iSg
Market Impact
Even without concrete plans, Musk’s comment has already triggered significant market movement. A Solana-based cryptocurrency named $VINE surged an astonishing 122% in just three days following Musk’s statement, according to CoinMarketCap.
This dramatic price action reflects the powerful influence Musk wields over digital markets. The billionaire has previously dabbled in cryptocurrency, allowing Dogecoin payments for Tesla purchases and exploring blockchain applications for government projects, though there’s no indication that $VINE would have any official connection to a revived Vine platform.
The hype has also drawn attention to other speculative tokens, including one linked to JellyJelly, a podcasting app created by Venmo co-founder Iqram Magdon-Ismail, which experienced similar volatile price action.
Challenges and Concerns
Despite the enthusiasm, questions remain about whether a revived Vine could successfully compete in today’s crowded social media landscape. TikTok currently boasts over 170 million American users, a massive audience that would be difficult to recapture.
Some industry observers have also raised concerns about Musk’s potential increased influence over social media spaces. Critics point to controversies surrounding content moderation on X under his leadership, including reports of increased hate speech and the exodus of major advertisers from the platform.
“Do we actually want Elon Musk’s Vine reboot if he makes it?” questioned AfroTech, citing concerns about content moderation policies that might be implemented on a revived platform.
Uncertain Future
The betting platform Polymarket initially placed a 58% probability on X relaunching Vine before July, though that figure has since dropped to 24%, suggesting growing skepticism about the timeline or likelihood of a revival.
Meanwhile, TikTok’s immediate fate remains uncertain. The Trump administration has potentially offered the Chinese-owned app a reprieve, with Trump reportedly working with ByteDance to resolve the situation. TikTok could potentially return as soon as this week, which might diminish the urgency for a Vine alternative.
For now, Musk’s cryptic “looking into it” leaves both users and investors wondering whether the six-second video format that helped shape internet culture in the early 2010s might make a comeback under his direction, or if the statement was simply another social media trial balloon from the unpredictable entrepreneur.
