Chinese officials are reportedly considering selling the U.S. operations of TikTok to X owner Elon Musk.
Chinese officials are still hoping for ByteDance to keep full ownership of the company, but some view a sale to Musk as preferable to a ban, people familiar with the matter told Bloomberg. The move would allow TikTok to remain in operation while Beijing officials could begin the Trump administration in good graces.
According to the outlet, the plan would be for X to take control of the U.S. portion of TikTok and run the two together, similar to the sale of Instagram to Facebook, now Meta.
People familiar with the matter said that Beijing is worried about tariffs and a harsher stance from President-elect Donald Trump, and they view the sale of TikTok to a close Trump ally as a way to reconcile.
A TikTok representative fervently denied the report in a statement to Variety.
“We can’t be expected to comment on pure fiction,” they said.
While the true extent of Beijing’s hold over TikTok is unknown, Chinese law forbids companies from selling their software algorithms, meaning any sale would need direct approval from Beijing.
A person familiar with the matter told Bloomberg that the choice of a sale to Musk isn’t only due to his good standing with Trump. ByteDance and many in the Chinese business sector have a positive view of Musk in general. They see him as a successful entrepreneur and one with significant business interests in China.
It’s unknown if Musk himself is aware of the plan. He has repeatedly voiced his distaste for TikTok, alleging in September its “trust & safety team” is “controlled by the far-left.” In June 2022, he suggested that TikTok might be “destroying civilization.”
However, in April, he voiced his belief that TikTok should not be banned.
“In my opinion, TikTok should not be banned in the USA, even though such a ban may benefit the X platform. Doing so would be contrary to freedom of speech and expression. It is not what America stands for,” he said.
A potential price for the acquisition is also unknown. Musk paid $44 billion for X, and analysts have estimated that TikTok’s U.S. operations are currently valued at around $40 to $50 billion.
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Aside from eliminating a rival, a purchase of TikTok would be beneficial for Musk due to the treasure trove of data he could use for his artificial intelligence company, xAI.
While ByteDance and Chinese officials still hope to avoid a TikTok ban, a majority of Supreme Court justices appeared skeptical about their free speech arguments on Friday. The ban is set to go into effect on Jan. 19.