Chinese government officials are reportedly discussing a scenario in which ByteDance sells its TikTok arm in the United States to Elon Musk, if the Supreme Court upholds the law banning the application on January 19. government officials have considered the sale to Musk as part of a broader plan to work with the administration of incoming president Donald Trump. In that scenario, Musk’s X would acquire TikTok US, effectively absorbing the vertical video platform’s 170 million American users and billions in potential ad revenue. A TikTok spokesperson called the report “pure fiction” in a statement to Variety. The report said it was unclear how ByteDance and TikTok knew about China’s discussions about Musk’s sale, which could highlight China’s alleged influence over the platform that enacted the law in the first place.
China is reportedly open to Elon Musk acquiring US TikTok
