China Considers Selling TikTok To Elon Musk

Chinese officials are reportedly in preliminary discussions about selling TikTok’s US operations to billionaire Elon Musk, should the short-video platform fail to avoid a looming ban, Bloomberg News reported.

If the law is enforced, TikTok’s US services could be shut down as early as Sunday, Jan. 19, unless a judicial stay is granted. I Photo: Bret Hartman, TED Conference Flickr

Beijing officials are said to prefer that TikTok remain under its parent company, ByteDance, according to unnamed sources cited by Bloomberg.

However, the report indicates that TikTok’s US operations could be sold either through a competitive process or by government arrangement, raising questions about ByteDance’s control over the platform.

China’s government holds a "golden share" in ByteDance, granting it significant influence. This has fueled concerns among US lawmakers, who argue that TikTok’s ties to Beijing pose national security risks.

In response, TikTok spokesperson Ted Johnson dismissed the Bloomberg report as “pure fiction” in a statement to Deadline. Meanwhile, contingency plans for the sale remain in the early stages, and the Supreme Court is expected to issue an opinion soon on whether to uphold a new law threatening TikTok’s operations.

If the law is enforced, TikTok’s US services could be shut down as early as Sunday, Jan. 19, unless a judicial stay is granted.