China is reportedly exploring the possibility of selling TikTok’s US operations to Elon Musk, Bloomberg reports.
The move is said to be under consideration by China if TikTok is unable to avoid a potential ban in the US and can’t sell the app to a US-approved buyer by this Sunday, Jan. 19. Lawmakers from both major parties have shared concerns that TikTok, which has more than 170 million American users, could be a threat to national security due to its ties to the Chinese government.
The US Supreme Court is expected to rule this week on whether to uphold the law that calls for TikTok to become unavailable in the US if the company is not sold.
Read more: Here’s What You Need to Know if TikTok Does Get Banned in the US
China-owned ByteDance, TikTok’s parent company, would prefer to keep ownership of the platform. But it’s reportedly open to Musk acquiring it and integrating it with X, formerly known as Twitter, as part of a contingency plan, according to Bloomberg, which cites unnamed people familiar with the matter.
A TikTok spokesperson told CNET: “We can’t 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, said to only be in the preliminary consideration stages, could bring TikTok’s millions of American users into Musk’s domain, which might improve X’s ability to attract advertisers. In addition, 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 the Chinese government views a sale to Musk as part of a broader strategy to work on its relationship with the incoming Trump administration. President-elect Donald Trump, who takes office on Jan. 20 for a second term, initially was in favor of a TikTok ban during his first term but has since urged the Supreme Court to hit pause on the ban to give him time to find a resolution. Musk has been one of Trump’s closest advisers during the transition and spent more than $250 billion to support Trump in his election campaign.
TikTok’s valuation is estimated between $40 billion and $50 billion.
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