China is considering selling TikTok U.S. to incoming President Donald Trump’s ally Elon Musk to avert a potential ban, Bloomberg reported. The decision seems purely strategic as the date for the Supreme Court’s hearing on TikTok’s appeal to stop the ban draws near. The law putting a ban on TikTok in the U.S. takes effect on January 19, a day before Trump officially takes over the U.S. presidency. Previous discussions have indicated that the Supreme Court could mostly uphold the law.
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Why China Selected Musk as a Possible TikTok Buyer
One of the possible options is for Musk’s social media company X to take over TikTok’s U.S. business and operate them together. The Bloomberg report assessed TikTok’s U.S. operations to be worth between $40 to $50 billion. The huge number also puts a question on the possible funding requirements for such a big acquisition. Musk is still repaying the loans he took to acquire X (then called Twitter) in 2022.
The Chinese government’s decision to select Musk as a potential buyer is interesting because Musk’s Tesla (TSLA) already has major operations in the mainland. Plus, Musk has openly voiced his support for TikTok remaining in the U.S., even though a ban would be beneficial to X. Selling TikTok to Musk could prove beneficial for the popular short-form video platform, given Musk’s close ties with Trump. The talks are in the very early stages, with no official comments being out yet.
Here’s More about the Potential TikTok Ban
The report also added that Beijing prefers to keep ByteDance-owned TikTok under the parent company’s control. As sources claim, the sale process could either be competitive, implying calling for bids, or government-arranged. The fate of TikTok no longer remains solely in the hands of ByteDance. The Chinese government also has a “golden share” in the parent company, which is why its fate could be highly influenced by the administration.
The decision to ban the short video form app TikTok from the U.S. hinges primarily on the belief that it could be possibly selling U.S. consumer data to China. TikTok has repeatedly denied the claims. TikTok has appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court that the law to ban or sell TikTok violates the First Amendment of freedom of speech. The Bloomberg report cited people familiar with the matter and stated that it remains unclear if ByteDance is even aware of the Chinese government’s plans for a sale.
For now, TikTok’s existence in the U.S. remains a wait-and-watch story. President Trump could also turn in favor of TikTok as he has recently stated that he intends to “save” the app, which means he could further delay the law or stop the ban. Nevertheless, should TikTok’s ban go through, it could mean a big win for American social media platforms.
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