Chinese officials are reportedly considering selling TikTok’s U.S. operations to Elon Musk if the platform cannot avoid a ban by U.S. authorities.
According to a Bloomberg report, while there is a preference to keep TikTok under the ownership of ByteDance, discussions are ongoing due to the looming Supreme Court deadline. The U.S. Supreme Court has given ByteDance until January 19 to either divest TikTok’s U.S. arm or face a potential ban due to national security concerns. TikTok, which has about 170 million American users, is accused of collecting U.S. user data in a way that could pose security risks.
The push for a ban has gained momentum with the incoming Trump administration, expected to adopt a tougher approach toward China. TikTok’s parent company has contested the ban in court, but recent developments suggest the ruling may be in favor of the ban.
If Musk were to purchase TikTok, it could resemble his approach to ownership, as seen with his 2023 purchase and rebranding of Twitter to “X.” This move could open the door for U.S. competitors like Meta’s Instagram and Alphabet’s YouTube, which have already introduced short-video features to compete with TikTok.
With U.S. lawmakers backing a ban last year, the decision could have significant implications for the social media landscape, potentially impacting millions of users and reshaping the industry.
