Chinese officials are reportedly considering selling TikTok’s US operations to Elon Musk if the app cannot avoid a looming ban, according to Bloomberg News.
Discussions are preliminary, and Beijing prefers TikTok to remain under its parent company, ByteDance.
TikTok’s future in the US may depend on a sale or government-directed arrangement, as China’s “golden share” in ByteDance raises concerns over government influence. One proposal suggests Musk’s social platform X could jointly operate TikTok US.
TikTok dismissed the report as “pure fiction” and reiterated that ByteDance’s government stake does not affect its global operations.
The discussions come as a US Supreme Court ruling on a potential TikTok ban or forced sale approaches, with a decision expected by January 19.