China considers selling TikTok to Elon Musk

WTF?! Could Elon Musk soon own not one but two of the largest social media platforms in the world? According to a new report, Chinese officials are considering selling TikTok's US operations to the X owner to avoid being banned in the country. However, TikTok has called the claims "pure fiction."

The US Supreme Court appears poised to let the law stand that will ban TikTok on January 19 unless owner ByteDance divests its US operations.

According to a report by Bloomberg, Chinese officials are considering an option in which TikTok's business in America is sold to Elon Musk, one of Donald Trump's closest allies.

The report added that the company's US operations could either be sold through a competitive process or an arrangement by the Chinese government, suggesting the decision regarding the app's future isn't ByteDance's alone. The company has consistently insisted that it is not controlled by Beijing, but reports that the Communist Party is deciding TikTok's fate suggest otherwise.

TikTok previously said that divestment isn't an option as the Chinese government would not allow it.

Musk has a better relationship with China than Trump, who has long taken a hardline approach to the Asian nation. The world's richest person has met with Chinese officials on several occasions, praised the country, and has a Tesla factory in Shanghai.

One of the scenarios is for X to take control of TikTok US and run the businesses together. Chinese officials have not yet reached a consensus on how to proceed.

TikTok has denied the report that Musk could soon take over another social media site. "We can't be expected to comment on pure fiction," a company spokesperson said.

Despite being tough on China and attempting to ban the app during his first stint in office, Trump has a soft spot for TikTok, which he says helped him win the youth vote. He has asked the Supreme Court to delay its decision on the ban until he takes office on January 20, the day after the deadline, so the president can seek a "political resolution." Senator Edward Markey and Representative Ro Khanna have also called on Congress and Joe Biden to extend the deadline.

Trump met TikTok's chief executive, Shou Zi Chew, at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida in December.

The forced sale is the result of a bill announced last year that is designed to "protect the national security of the United States from the threat posed by foreign adversary controlled applications."

Musk often uses X to comment on major news reports involving himself, but he's been uncharacteristically quiet about this one.