China is reportedly studying the possibility of selling TikTok’s US operations to Elon Musk, Bloomberg Reports.
The move is reportedly being considered by China if TikTok fails to avoid a possible ban in the United States and cannot sell the app to a US-approved buyer by this Sunday, January 19. Lawmakers from both major parties have shared concerns that TikTok, which has more than 170 million U.S. users, poses a national security threat because of its ties to the Chinese government.
The U.S. Supreme Court is expected to rule this week on whether to uphold the law that says TikTok will become unavailable in the United States if the company is not sold.
Learn more: Here’s what you need to know if TikTok is banned in the US
Chinese company ByteDance, parent company of TikTok, would prefer to retain ownership of the platform. But it would be possible for Musk to acquire it and integrate it with X, formerly known as Twitter, as part of a contingency plan, according to Bloomberg, which cites anonymous people familiar with the matter.
A TikTok spokesperson told CNET: “We cannot be expected to comment on pure fiction.” It is also unclear whether ByteDance is aware of or involved in the reported discussions.
X did not respond to a request for comment.
The potential deal, which is only in the preliminary review stage, could bring TikTok’s millions of U.S. users into Musk’s domain, which could improve X’s ability to attract advertisers. Additionally, Musk’s artificial intelligence company xAI — which powers X’s AI chatbot Grok — could leverage data generated by TikTok to advance its efforts.
The report suggests that the Chinese government views a sale to Musk as part of a broader strategy to improve relations with the new Trump administration. President-elect Donald Trump, who takes office on January 20 for a second term, initially favored a ban on TikTok during his first term, but has since urged the Supreme Court to press pause on the ban to give him time to find a solution. Musk was one of Trump’s closest advisors during the transition and spent more than $250 billion to support Trump in his election campaign.
TikTok’s valuation is estimated between $40 and $50 billion.
