Chinese officials are in preliminary talks about a possible option to sell TikTok's United States operations to billionaire Elon Musk if the app cannot avoid an impending ban, Bloomberg News reported on Monday.
Officials in Beijing prefer TikTok to remain under the control of parent Bytedance, the report said, citing sources. TikTok's U.S. operations could either be sold through a competitive process or through a government deal, the report said, suggesting the app's future is no longer solely in ByteDance's control.
The Chinese government has a “golden stake” in ByteDance, which several members of Congress have said gives the government power over TikTok. Under one scenario, Musk’s X social media platform would take control of TikTok US and run the business jointly, the report said. Officials have yet to reach a consensus on how to proceed, according to Bloomberg News.
“We cannot comment on pure fiction,” a TikTok spokesperson said in response to the report. It remains unclear how much ByteDance is aware of the discussions or involvement of Musk and TikTok, and there is no information on whether ByteDance, TikTok and Musk have been involved in talks about a potential deal.
TikTok has previously said the government stake “has nothing to do with ByteDance’s global operations outside of China, including TikTok.” Elon Musk, X, and China’s Ministry of Commerce did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Last week, the Supreme Court appeared poised to uphold a law that would force TikTok to be sold or banned in the U.S. by Jan. 19, citing national security concerns about China.
Source: newsbomb
