Chinese authorities are reportedly considering the sale of TikTok's U.S. operations to billionaire Elon Musk as the app faces an impending ban. The U.S. Supreme Court has issued an ultimatum to TikTok, ordering the social media company to halt its US operations by Jan. 19, just a day before President-elect Donald Trump's inauguration.
Through a "golden share" structure, the Chinese government owns a sizable portion of ByteDance, the parent firm of TikTok. U.S. politicians are concerned that this gives the Chinese government control over TikTok's business practices.
However, Beijing officials are firm that TikTok should remain under the ownership of ByteDance. They have appealed to the US Supreme Court to overturn the ban, with the court hearing their final plea on Tuesday.
TikTok's potential sale to Musk has deep political undertones. The authorities are courting Musk for the deal due to his friendship with Trump. Musk's support for Trump's re-election campaign, making him the largest political donor in U.S. history, has also played a role in this.
If the deal goes through, Musk could potentially run X (formerly Twitter) and TikTok US simultaneously, generating significant profits for both parties. However, discussions are still in the early stages with no consensus reached yet.
It is uncertain how much information ByteDance has managed to acquire about the potential deal, and whether Musk or TikTok were involved in the talks.
Many social media users have expressed relief at the possibility of TikTok avoiding a ban, while others have concerns about Musk owning the platform.
American YouTuber Mr. Beast jokingly offered to buy TikTok should Musk not be interested, showing the intense debate surrounding this potential sale.
