Short video app TikTok has rejected reports of a possible sale to billionaire Elon Musk as “pure fiction”, with just five days to go before it faces a potential ban in the United States.
TikTok is facing a January 19 deadline for a ban in the US, unless its Chinese owner ByteDance divests its US operations.
ByteDance has previously said that China would not allow it to sell TikTok or its algorithm, but on Monday, media reports said Chinese officials were in preliminary talks for a potential option to sell the short-video app’s US operations to Musk.
Musk is known to have close ties with Beijing, especially as China remains one of Tesla’s biggest markets. According to one industry executive, Musk’s ties with Chinese premier Li Qiang “made everything possible for Tesla” in the country.
Meanwhile, the billionaire is now also a close aide to US president-elect Donald Trump, who has promised a hawkish stance on China, but also said he has a ‘warm spot’ for TikTok in his heart.
Chinese officials are, effectively, considering “the possibility of allowing a trusted non-Chinese party such as Elon Musk to invest in or take control of TikTok’s US operations,” the Wall Street Journal reported, citing people familiar with the discussions.
According to another media report, Chinese officials are considering a scenario where Musk’s social media platform X could take control of TikTok US and run the business together.
But officials are yet to reach a consensus on how to proceed, the report said. TikTok’s US operations could either be sold through a competitive process or an arrangement by the government, it added, suggesting that the future of the app is no longer solely in ByteDance’s control.
The WSJ also said it was unclear whether officials had discussed the possible sale to Musk with top Chinese leaders.
It said that officials believe it may be best to let the ban “go into effect and keep TikTok under ByteDance’s ownership so that negotiations could continue after Trump takes over,” WSJ reported.
When asked for a response to reports of a possible sale to Musk, a TikTok spokesperson repeated a single-lined comment to multiple media outlets: “We can’t be expected to comment on pure fiction.”
