TikTok Ban Wild Card: Elon Musk is a potential buyer, report says

China is reportedly exploring the possibility of selling TikTok’s US operations to Elon Musk, Bloomberg reports.

The move is said to be under consideration by China if TikTok cannot avoid this happening Possible ban in the United States The app cannot be sold to an authorized US buyer by Sunday, January 19. Lawmakers from both major parties have expressed concerns that TikTok, which has more than 170 million US users, could… A threat to national security Because of its relations with the Chinese government.

The US Supreme Court is expected to issue its ruling this week Whether to maintain the law Which calls for TikTok to become unavailable in the US if the company is not sold.

Read more: Here’s what you need to know if TikTok is banned in the US

Chinese-owned ByteDance, TikTok’s parent company, prefers to retain ownership of the platform. But it’s reportedly open to Musk acquiring it and integrating it with X, formerly known as Twitter, as part of a contingency plan, according to Bloomberg, which cited unnamed people familiar with the matter.

“We’re not expected to comment on pure fiction,” a TikTok spokesperson told CNET. It is also unclear whether ByteDance was aware of or participated in the reported discussions.

X did not respond to a request for comment.

The potential deal, which is said to be only in the preliminary study stages, could bring millions of American TikTok users into Musk’s domain, which could improve X’s ability to attract advertisers. Additionally, Musk’s AI company, xAI, powers X’s chatbot Your puppy – It can leverage data generated by TikTok to enhance its efforts.

The report indicates that the Chinese government views the sale to Musk as part of a broader strategy to work on its relationship with the incoming Trump administration. President-elect Donald Trump, who will take office on January 20 for a second term, was initially in favor of banning TikTok during his first term but has since urged the Supreme Court to… Hit pause regarding the ban to give him time to find a solution. Musk was one of Trump’s closest advisors during the transition It spent more than $250 billion To support Trump in his election campaign.

TikTok is valued at between $40 billion and $50 billion.