On Monday, Bloomberg reported that Chinese officials were weighing an option where Musk could acquire TikTok’s U.S. operations if a new American law, requiring the parent company ByteDance to divest its stake or face a U.S. ban, takes effect. Bloomberg's report was based on anonymous sources.
“We can’t be expected to comment on pure fiction,” a TikTok representative responded to Variety's request for a comment.
Elon Musk has not addressed the Bloomberg report. Musk, the CEO of Tesla and SpaceX and the world’s richest person, purchased Twitter in 2022 for $44 billion and rebranded it as X. Under a scenario mentioned by the Chinese government, X would "take control of TikTok US and run the businesses together," according to Bloomberg. However, it is unclear whether Musk, TikTok, and ByteDance have had any discussions regarding such a deal.
TikTok faces the possibility of being banned in the U.S. under a law set to take effect on January 19, unless the Supreme Court intervenes to block it.
On January 10, the Supreme Court heard arguments in TikTok’s emergency appeal, arguing that the law infringes on the First Amendment rights of its 170 million U.S. users. The justices, however, appeared more inclined to support the government's stance 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 an entity that would satisfy U.S. approval. Furthermore, Chinese officials have previously stated that any attempt by ByteDance to sell TikTok would be blocked, as it would be considered a technology export.
The law, known as the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act, was passed last year with strong bipartisan support and signed into law by President Biden. It prohibits U.S. app stores, such as those by Apple and Google, from distributing TikTok unless ByteDance sells its stake to a non-“foreign adversary” country.
During his first term, former President Donald Trump sought to force TikTok’s sale to U.S.-based entities over national security concerns but was unsuccessful. Trump has since urged the Supreme Court to delay the law to allow his administration to seek a “negotiated resolution” to avoid a nationwide TikTok shutdown, preserving First Amendment rights while addressing national security concerns.
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