With the sword of a potential ban of TikTok in the US still hanging as the deadline for the China-based social media platform to find a US partner by January 19 nears, there are rumours that the platform is going to sell its US operations to Elon Musk.
ByteDance, the proprietor of TikTok, has to sell its stake to a US partner by January 19, and the US Supreme Court is in no mood to relent on TikTok’s appeal against the law.
However, TikTok has strongly negated any such rumours that Chinese officials are looking at a possible sale of the app’s US operations to billionaire Elon Musk and termed the claims as figments of imagination.
Rumours Swirl Over TikTok’s Potential Sale to Elon Musk as Deadline for US Partner Looms
The rumours started flying after Bloomberg News reported that Chinese officials were considering selling the social media platform’s US operations to Elon Musk to negate any future possibility of a ban.
JUST IN: Chinese officials are discussing a possible sale of TikTok to Elon Musk if the company is unable to stop the US ban, according to Bloomberg.
Big, if true.
Musk has previously spoken out against banning TikTok, arguing that although it would help X, he is against… pic.twitter.com/7m2V6fTlB9
— Collin Rugg (@CollinRugg) January 14, 2025
According to Bloomberg News, the Chinese officials are drawing a broader contingency plan given the ascendancy of Donald Trump as the next President of the US, and the plan to sell TikTok’s operation in the US to Elon Musk is a part of this strategy.
One possibility which was discussed was Musk’s social media platform X taking over TikTok’s operations in the US. TikTok has over 170 million users in the United States, and combining the two platforms will significantly augment the advertising revenue.
However, when Media Outlet Variety approached a TikTok official, he dismissed the report and added that the company cannot be asked to comment on something which is pure fiction.
As already mentioned, as per present US laws, the parent company of TikTok, ByteDance, must sell its stake to a US entity before January 19, or face a ban if it is not able to do so. TikTok, in an emergency appeal to the Supreme Court, has asked to block the law, but the latter was sceptical of the company’s First Amendment arguments.
As per Bloomberg, the Chinese are amenable to a deal with Elon Musk because of his close ties with Donald Trump and his widespread business experience in China through Tesla. Elon Musk had earlier expressed his disapproval of banning TikTok and wrote on X that it goes against the principle of freedom of speech and expression. Bloomberg Intelligence has estimated that TikTok’s US operations could be between $40 billion to $50 billion.
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