China officials discuss potential TikTok US sale to Musk

Chinese officials have held early-stage discussions about potentially selling TikTok’s U.S. operations to billionaire Elon Musk if the video-sharing app faces a ban, Bloomberg reported on Tuesday, citing people familiar with the matter.

While Beijing prefers ByteDance to retain control of TikTok, officials have explored alternatives including a sale to Musk, the report said. One scenario would see Musk’s social media platform X take control of TikTok’s U.S. business.

“We can’t be expected to comment on pure fiction,” a TikTok spokesperson said, reiterating the company’s stance against selling its U.S. operations.

The discussions come as TikTok faces mounting pressure in the United States, where the House of Representatives passed a bill in April requiring ByteDance to sell the platform or face a nationwide ban.

The Supreme Court last week indicated it may uphold the law enforcing a sale or ban by January 19.

TikTok has grown to become one of America’s most popular social networks with 170 million users, but has faced scrutiny over concerns about potential Chinese Communist Party influence through ByteDance, which holds a government “golden share”.

Any acquisition by Musk, who bought Twitter (now X) in October 2022, would likely face intense regulatory scrutiny from U.S. competition authorities.

Neither Musk, X, nor China’s cyberspace administration and commerce ministry immediately responded to requests for comment by Reuters.