{"id":214568,"date":"2025-01-14T03:13:03","date_gmt":"2025-01-14T03:13:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/2025\/01\/14\/china-discusses-sale-of-tiktok-us-to-elon-musk-as-one-possible-option-times-of-india\/"},"modified":"2025-01-14T03:13:03","modified_gmt":"2025-01-14T03:13:03","slug":"china-discusses-sale-of-tiktok-us-to-elon-musk-as-one-possible-option-times-of-india","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/2025\/01\/14\/china-discusses-sale-of-tiktok-us-to-elon-musk-as-one-possible-option-times-of-india\/","title":{"rendered":"China discusses sale of TikTok US to Elon Musk as one possible option – Times of India"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Musk thinks TikTok should remain available in the US. (AI image for representation only.)<\/span><\/div>\n<\/section>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Chinese officials are evaluating a potential option that involves Elon Musk acquiring the US operations of TikTok if the company fails to fend off a controversial ban on the short-video app, according to people familiar with the matter.
Beijing officials strongly prefer that TikTok remains under the ownership of parent ByteDance Ltd, the people say, and the company is contesting the impending ban with an appeal to the US Supreme Court. But the justices signaled during arguments on January 10 that they are likely to uphold the law. Senior Chinese officials had already begun to debate contingency plans for TikTok as part of an expansive discussion on how to work with Donald Trump<\/a>\u2019s administration, one of which involves Musk, said the people, asking not to be identified revealing confidential discussions.
A potential high-profile deal with one of Trump\u2019s closest allies holds some appeal for the Chinese government, which is expected to have some say over whether TikTok is ultimately sold, said the people. Musk spent more than $250 million supporting Trump\u2019s re-election, and has been tapped for a prominent role in improving government efficiency after the Republican takes office.
Under one scenario that\u2019s been discussed by the Chinese government, Musk\u2019s X \u2014 the former Twitter \u2014 would take control of TikTok US and run the businesses together, the people said. With more than 170 million users in the US, TikTok could bolster X\u2019s efforts to attract advertisers. Musk also founded a separate artificial intelligence company, xAI, that could benefit from the huge amounts of data generated from TikTok.
Chinese officials have yet to reach any firm consensus about how to proceed and their deliberations are still preliminary, the people said. It\u2019s not clear how much ByteDance knows about the Chinese government discussions or whether TikTok and Musk have been involved. It\u2019s also unclear whether Musk, TikTok and ByteDance have held any talks about the terms of any possible deal.
Musk and his representatives did not respond to a request for comment. Musk posted in April that he thinks TikTok should remain available in the US. \u201cIn my opinion, TikTok should not be banned in the USA, even though such a ban may benefit the X platform,\u201d he wrote on X. \u201cDoing so would be contrary to freedom of speech and expression. It is not what America stands for.\u201d
ByteDance and TikTok representatives didn\u2019t respond to messages seeking comment. The Cyberspace Administration of China and China\u2019s Ministry of Commerce, government agencies that could be involved in decisions about TikTok\u2019s future, also didn\u2019t respond to requests for comment.
The talks in Beijing suggest that TikTok\u2019s fate may no longer be in ByteDance\u2019s sole control, said the people. Chinese officials recognize they will face tough negotiations with the Trump administration over tariffs, export controls and other issues, and they see the TikTok negotiations as a potential area for reconciliation, they said.
The Chinese government holds a so-called golden share in a ByteDance affiliate that gives it influence over the company\u2019s strategy and operations. TikTok maintains that the control only applies to the China-based subsidiary Douyin Information Service Co., and has no bearing on ByteDance operations outside China. Still, Beijing\u2019s export rules prevent Chinese companies from selling their software algorithms, like the one integral to TikTok. Because the Chinese government would have to approve of a sale that includes TikTok\u2019s valuable recommendation engine, it has a significant voice in any possible deal.
TikTok\u2019s US operations could be valued at around $40 billion to $50 billion, Bloomberg Intelligence analysts Mandeep Singh and Damian Reimertz estimated last year. That\u2019s a substantial sum even for the world\u2019s richest person. It\u2019s not clear how Musk could pull off such a transaction, whether it would require the sale of other holdings, or whether the US government would approve. He paid $44 billion for Twitter in 2022, and is still paying off sizable loans.
Musk has a positive reputation among many ByteDance employees in China, according to a person familiar with the matter. He is seen as a very successful entrepreneur, who has experience engaging with the Chinese government through his Tesla Inc business, the person added.
ByteDance\u2019s leaders have repeatedly said their priority is to fight US legislation that requires the Beijing-based company sell or shut down the US operations because of national security concerns. TikTok\u2019s lawyers have argued the legislation violates free speech laws under the Constitution\u2019s First Amendment.
A majority of the Supreme Court justices suggested the security concerns take priority over free speech, although they have yet to issue a formal decision. President-elect Trump, who takes office Jan. 20, has sought to delay the TikTok ban \u2014 which takes effect Jan. 19 \u2014 so he can work on the negotiations. He has said he wants to \u201csave\u201d the app and there\u2019s been speculation he could take last-minute action to sidestep the ban.
On a practical level, spinning off TikTok\u2019s US business would be highly complex, affecting shareholders in China as well as the US. Lawyers for TikTok argued before the Supreme Court that separating the US portions of the product would be \u201cextraordinarily difficult.\u201d
It\u2019s unclear if US TikTok would be sold off in a competitive process, or if a sale would be arranged by the government. Billionaire Frank McCourt and \u201cShark Tank\u201d investor Kevin O\u2019Leary are part of a bid through Project Liberty to acquire TikTok, which O\u2019Leary has said he discussed with Trump. In the past, Microsoft Corp. had sought to acquire the business, and Oracle Corp. has a deep technology partnership with the company.
One alternative for TikTok would be to move its existing US customers over to a similar app \u2014 with different branding \u2014 to potentially sidestep the ban, one of the people said. It\u2019s not clear how effective such a move would be.
One person close to the company, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the strategy, said before the Supreme Court hearing that the legal battle is still the focus of top executives and they would prefer to keep fighting in the US rather than sell TikTok US and cede control for good.
Musk is in a position to influence the China-US relationship as the world\u2019s richest person with businesses that straddle the world\u2019s two largest economies. Tesla, where Musk is chief executive officer, erected a sprawling factory in Shanghai in 2019 and has since expanded the facility into the company\u2019s largest production base. The effort helped Tesla expand its market share in China despite tough local competition, and build goodwill with government officials.
While Trump is staffing his incoming administration with China hawks like Secretary of State nominee Marco Rubio, Musk has spoken out against some recent China trade policies, including the Biden administration\u2019s tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles. <\/div>\n