Chinese officials are weighing options for TikTok as the popular short-form video app faces an outright ban in the U.S. on Jan. 19. One possible option they are discussing is selling its U.S. operations to X owner Elon Musk, according to a report from Bloomberg.
The Chinese government would “strongly” prefer TikTok’s parent company, ByteDance, remain the app’s owner, according to Bloomberg sources. But they have discussed Musk’s X taking over TikTok’s U.S. arm as a possible contingency.
Bloomberg said it is unclear whether Musk, X, TikTok or ByteDance are involved in these discussions with Chinese government officials.
Despite his ownership of a rival social media platform, Musk has adamantly maintained that TikTok shouldn’t be banned.
In my opinion, TikTok should not be banned in the USA, even though such a ban may benefit the 𝕏 platform.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) April 19, 2024
Doing so would be contrary to freedom of speech and expression. It is not what America stands for.
“In my opinion, TikTok should not be banned in the USA, even though such a ban may benefit the X platform,” Musk posted in April. “Doing so would be contrary to freedom of speech and expression. It is not what America stands for.”
Musk has had positive dealings with the Chinese government as part of his role as CEO of Tesla.
Recently, President-elect Donald Trump said TikTok has a “warm spot” in his heart, despite being the first president to propose banning the app on national security concerns during his first administration.
“We’ll take a look at TikTok,” he said in December. “I have a warm spot in my heart for TikTok because I won youth by 34 points. And there are those that say that TikTok has something to do with it.”
Based on a Tufts University analysis of Associated Press data, Vice President Kamala Harris won the under-30 vote by four points, though Trump did make major gains in the age group and won under-30 men by 14 points, a group he lost in 2020.
In recent months, ByteDance hoped the situation could be resolved in the courts. Last week, the Supreme Court heard arguments over whether the ban should be upheld.
The people cited in Bloomberg’s report said Beijing may get more involved in the negotiations, despite ByteDance’s repeated claims it operates independently from the Chinese government. Chinese officials see it as an opportunity to work with the Trump administration, with promises of tariffs and export controls on the docket.
A day before the Supreme Court heard arguments over TikTok, billionaire and former Los Angeles Dodgers owner Frank McCourt’s group put in a formal bid to take over the app.
The People’s Bid for TikTok also includes investor Kevin O’Leary and has been in the works since May 2024. The value of that offer wasn’t made public but McCourt has said he doesn’t need the highly coveted algorithm as part of the deal, which could significantly decrease the value of U.S. operations.
