China is reportedly mulling over selling TikTok’s U.S. operations to Elon Musk ahead of a Sunday deadline imposed by the Supreme Court for the app’s owners to divest or face a potential ban.
According to Bloomberg and The Wall Street Journal, the proposal is part of broader discussions among Chinese officials about dealing with President-elect Donald Trump’s administration. Musk’s connections to Trump — as an ally — and his ties to China, where Tesla operates production facilities, are reportedly factors in the deliberations.
READ: TikTok might ‘go dark’ on Jan. 19, Supreme Court likely to uphold app ban (January 11, 2025)
Trump’s stance on TikTok has been wavering. During his presidency in 2016, Trump sought to ban TikTok in the country, citing national security concerns over its Chinese ownership. However, as President-elect, Trump has shifted his stance, now favoring TikTok’s continued operation in the U.S. He acknowledged the platform’s role in his campaign, stating, “Why would I want to get rid of TikTok?”
This shift could be a result of the close ties between Musk and Trump recently. Musk, reportedly, has expressed that TikTok should not be banned in the U.S., even though such a ban might benefit his platform X.
Combining TikTok’s U.S. operations with Musk’s social media platform, X, could boost ad sales, while TikTok’s extensive content library may enhance Musk’s AI initiatives such as xAI. The user data generated by TikTok’s 170-million-U.S. audience is expected to benefit Musk’s ventures.
While TikTok’s Chinese parent company ByteDance prefers to keep the short-form video platform under its ownership, the Supreme Court’s increasing pressure pushes the social media app to consider Musk as a possible option for the app’s acquisition.
READ: Will Meta and Google benefit from banning TikTok? (December 13, 2024)
Musk did not respond to the press request for comment. However, a TikTok representative told WSJ, “We cannot be expected to comment on pure fiction.”
The TikTok ban will take effect on Jan.19 unless the court issues a stay.