China Eyes Elon Musk to Take Over TikTok Amid US Ban Threat
As TikTok faces the possibility of a US ban, Chinese officials are reportedly considering Elon Musk as a potential buyer, should the platform be forced to sell. While the Chinese government prefers to keep TikTok under ByteDance's control, discussions about contingency plans are already underway.
TikTok has appealed the ban to the Supreme Court, but with the law set to take effect by January 19, the company may be forced to sell or shut down in the US. If this happens, the Chinese government is reportedly open to Musk purchasing TikTok's US operations, integrating it with his social media platform, X (formerly Twitter).
Musk could see significant benefits from acquiring TikTok, including access to its 170 million US users, which would help attract advertisers to X, a platform that has lost advertisers since Musk's takeover. Additionally, TikTok’s data could strengthen Musk’s AI ventures, particularly his chatbot, Grok, developed by his company xAI.
Meanwhile, US lawmakers are urging President Biden to delay the deadline to allow TikTok’s 170 million American users to continue accessing the app without disruption.
TikTok’s trouble stems from a law passed in April that forces ByteDance to sell TikTok or risk a ban. The law was backed by concerns over national security, with the US government citing risks of sensitive data being misused for foreign influence operations. The situation remains in flux as both political and business interests weigh in on the future of TikTok in the US.