The date set by the US “anti-TikTok” bill is getting closer. ByteDance’s efforts to avoid the US ban of the short video platform have been in vain so far. A recent report suggested that China and the US were in negotiations for a potential sale of TikTok to Elon Musk, owner of X (FKA Twitter). However, the company has flatly denied this, even defining it as “pure fiction.”
Currently, ByteDance must sell the American branch of TikTok in order to continue operating in the US. January 19 is the deadline set by the bill signed by Joe Biden in April 2024. The appeals courts have ruled against attempts to challenge and delay the law. However, the company has taken the case to the Supreme Court as a final resort.
TikTok denies a potential sale to Elon Musk to stay in the US
Given this complicated situation, Bloomberg reported yesterday that the Chinese government was considering selling the app to Musk. More specifically, it could be Elon’s company, X, that could take over the world’s most popular short video service.
However, Variety contacted TikTok for comments on the matter. “We can’t be expected to comment on pure fiction,” a spokesperson replied. Therefore, it appears that the company’s executives are not particularly fond of the idea. Pending the Supreme Court’s ruling, TikTok ditching this option brings the ban closer. The platform boasts more than 170 million active users and around 7,000 employees in the country.
According to Bloomberg’s original report, the potential sale of TikTok to Musk was part of the Chinese government’s efforts to smooth things over with the Trump administration. However, this was just one of the options on the table. Under this scenario, Musk and the X board could manage TikTok in the United States. If something like this happens, X could even develop some kind of integration with TikTok content. This may help X regain the appeal it lost among certain advertisers who had abandoned the platform. Even xAI, X’s AI division, could benefit from TikTok user data.
Like Trump, Elon is in favor of TikTok continuing to operate in the United States. The owner of X expressed this in April 2024, even though he knows that the possible ban of the platform could benefit his social media service.
