The Chinese government is reportedly holding discussions to sell TikTok operations in the United States to tech billionaire and Space X boss, Elon Musk.
A Bloomberg report suggested that selling the app could be the likely next step if the U.S. Supreme Court confirms the law prohibiting its use on January 19.
Citing people familiar with the matter, Bloomberg reported that Beijing officials strongly prefer that TikTok remains under the ownership of parent Chinese ByteDance Ltd., and the company is contesting the impending ban with an appeal to the US Supreme Court.
During the arguments on January 10, the justices indicated that they were probably going to support the law. This led senior Chinese officials to initiate contingency plans for TikTok as part of a broader conversation on collaborating with Donald Trump’s administration.
Musk, being one of the main financial backers of President Trump’s election campaign is anticipated to have a significant influence on the incoming administration.
If the sales pull through, Musk’s X would acquire TikTok US, effectively absorbing the vertical video platform’s 170 million American users and billions in potential ad revenue.
Meanwhile, the report states it is unclear how much ByteDance and TikTok know about China’s discussions of a Musk sale, potentially highlighting China’s alleged influence over the platform that brought about this law in the first place.
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