Chinese officials are mulling a possible option that involves the sale of TikTok’s US operations to billionaire Elon Musk if the corporate fails to fend off a possible ban, Bloomberg News reported on Monday, citing people conversant in the matter.
Chinese officials prefer that TikTok remain under the control of parent Bytedance, the report said, adding that the corporate is contesting the ban with an appeal to the US Supreme Court.
Under one scenario, Musk’s social media platform X would take control of TikTok US and run the business together, the report said, adding that the Chinese officials have yet to succeed in any firm consensus about the right way to proceed and their deliberations are still preliminary.
TikTok declined to comment, while Musk didn’t immediately reply to a request for comment. X couldn’t immediately be reached for a comment.
The Cyberspace Administration of China and China’s Ministry of Commerce, government agencies that may very well be involved in decisions about TikTok’s future, couldn’t be immediately reached for comment.
Last week, the Supreme Court seemed inclined to uphold a law that will force a sale or ban of the favored short-video app TikTok in the USA by Jan. 19, with the justices specializing in the national security concerns about China that prompted the crackdown.
