The relationship between China and the United States could see an impact from a new proposal on the future of TikTok.
ByteDance Ltd, TikTok’s parent company, has been in a legal battle over an impending ban, taking an appeal to the US Supreme Court in hopes of fending off the law which the SCOTUS justices seemed inclined to agree with. In scrambling to find other options, one plan could see the short-video app sold to tech billionaire Elon Musk, sources familiar with the matter told Bloomberg.
“Senior Chinese officials had already begun to debate contingency plans for TikTok as part of an expansive discussion on how to work with Donald Trump’s administration, one of which involves Musk, said the people, asking not to be identified revealing confidential discussions,” Bloomberg reported.
“A potential high-profile deal with one of Trump’s closest allies holds some appeal for the Chinese government, which is expected to have some say over whether TikTok is ultimately sold, said the people,” the outlet continued.
Bloomberg reports Chinese officials are in preliminary talks about selling Tik Tok to Elon Musk.
This would be a game-changer in the mass awakening, particularly amongst the younger generations.
If Elon is able to change Tik Tok the way he changed Twitter, truth will get more… pic.twitter.com/9wY2WA37hP
— Clandestine (@WarClandestine) January 14, 2025
“Under one scenario that’s been discussed by the Chinese government, Musk’s X — the former Twitter — would take control of TikTok US and run the businesses together, the people said. With more than 170 million users in the US, TikTok could bolster X’s efforts to attract advertisers. Musk also founded a separate artificial intelligence company, xAI, that could benefit from the huge amounts of data generated from TikTok,” the report continued.
TikTok has called out the rumors as “pure fiction.”
“We can’t be expected to comment on pure fiction,” a spokesperson for the company told BBC News.
TikTok has repeatedly denied any influence by the Chinese Communist Party on the company but the Biden administration has warned of national security concerns and that the app could be used for spying.
President-elect Donald Trump met with TikTok’s chief executive, Shou Zi Chew, at his Florida home last month. He has urged the Supreme Court to delay the ban until he takes office so he can find a “resolution.”
Last year, Musk had indicated that banning TikTok was a bad idea.
“In my opinion, TikTok should not be banned in the USA, even though such a ban may benefit the X platform,” he wrote on X. “Doing so would be contrary to freedom of speech and expression. It is not what America stands for.”