TikTok has rejected a report suggesting that China is considering facilitating a sale of the app to tech billionaire Elon Musk in order to keep it operational in the U.S. amidst the threat of a government ban.
On Monday, Bloomberg reported that “Chinese officials are evaluating a potential option” for Musk to acquire TikTok’s U.S. operations if a law requiring ByteDance, TikTok’s parent company, to divest its stake or face a ban goes into effect. The report cited anonymous sources.
“We can’t be expected to comment on pure fiction,” a TikTok representative told Variety in response to the inquiry.
Musk, the CEO of Tesla and SpaceX, who acquired Twitter in 2022 and rebranded it as X, has not commented on the Bloomberg report. The article mentioned that, under one potential scenario, the Chinese government might allow X to take control of TikTok’s U.S. operations and manage the businesses jointly. However, it remained unclear whether Musk, TikTok, or ByteDance had discussed any details regarding such a deal.
TikTok faces the risk of being banned in the U.S. unless the Supreme Court blocks a law set to take effect on January 19. On January 10, the Court heard arguments in TikTok’s emergency appeal to stop the law, which TikTok and ByteDance argue infringes on the First Amendment rights of its 170 million U.S. users. The justices appeared to lean toward supporting the government’s position that TikTok poses a national security threat, due to its ties to the Chinese Communist Party.
ByteDance, based in Beijing, has not indicated it is considering selling its roughly 40% stake in TikTok to a group or entity that would gain U.S. approval. Chinese officials have previously signaled that any such sale would be blocked, viewing it as a technology export.
The legislation, known as the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act, was passed with strong bipartisan support and signed into law by President Biden. It requires ByteDance to sell its stake in TikTok to a non-“foreign adversary” entity or face the app’s removal from U.S. app stores and web hosting services.
President-elect Donald Trump has asked the Supreme Court to delay the law’s January 19 implementation to allow his administration time to negotiate a resolution that would preserve First Amendment rights while addressing national security concerns. During his presidency, Trump unsuccessfully attempted to force the sale of TikTok to U.S.-based companies for similar national security reasons.
