Reports have emerged that Chinese government officials have discussed selling ByteDance’s US arm, TikTok, to Elon Musk if a new US law banning the app is upheld by the Supreme Court on January 19. According to Bloomberg, China prefers TikTok remain under ByteDance’s ownership, but has considered a sale to Musk as part of a broader plan to work with President Donald Trump’s administration.
If this scenario were to happen, Musk’s X would acquire TikTok US, potentially absorbing its 170 million American users and significant ad revenue. However, a spokesperson for TikTok has denied the report, calling it “pure fiction”. The unclear nature of ByteDance and TikTok’s knowledge about China’s discussions raises questions about China’s influence over the platform that led to this law.
Source: https://techcrunch.com/2025/01/13/china-is-reportedly-open-to-elon-musk-acquiring-tiktok-us