ISTANBUL

US Vice President JD Vance on Thursday dismissed reports of the imminent departure of controversial billionaire Elon Musk from government service, saying his work "is not even close to (being) done."

"That report I saw was total fake news," Vance told Fox News, adding that while Musk's six-month special government role would end as planned, US President Donald Trump's top campaign donor would remain on as an advisor.

"The work of Elon is not even close to done ... Elon is going to remain a friend and an advisor of both me and the president," he said.

Vance also spoke on Musk's controversial efforts to downsize government operations, citing examples like uncovering "fraudulent" Social Security payments.

"We have started to chip away at it, but there's a lot of work to do," he said, adding that the effort would continue beyond Musk's formal role.

Musk has been criticized for citing erroneous examples of “fraud” to justify cutting the Social Security budget and services, such as people hundreds of years old supposedly getting benefit payments, which turned out not to be fraud but a computer glitch.

Musk has also blasted Social Security as a “Ponzi scheme,” fueling fears that he wants to end the popular program.

National security concerns versus access to TikTok

On TikTok, Vance also hinted at an impending White House announcement regarding the popular app's future in the US.

"We've been working very hard ... to accomplish two things," Vance said, namely protect national security while maintaining access to the platform where "a lot of young people get their news."

Vance declined to specify timing but confirmed: "It'll come out before (the deadline) ... We're going to let the president announce whatever we ultimately decide."

The comments come as Saturday's deadline approaches for TikTok's Chinese-owned parent company to divest or face a US ban. The Supreme Court recently upheld legislation mandating the sale of the app, which boasts 170 million American users.

Citing “people familiar with the talks,” unconfirmed Wednesday reports from outlets such as The New York Times said e-commerce giant Amazon had made a bid to buy the short video service.