Jan. 14 (UPI) — TikTok officials threw cold water on a report that China is considering a deal that would allow ByteDance to sell the U.S. portion of the popular video app to Elon Musk, owner of X.
The report and denial come just days before the platform is scheduled to be banned in the United States and the U.S. Supreme Court to rule on whether that ban is constitutional.
“We can’t be expected to comment on pure fiction,” a TikTok representative told Variety on Monday about a report in Bloomberg detailing the consideration by Chinese authorities over a purchase by Musk, the world’s richest man and the ardent supporter of President-elect Donald Trump.
Bloomberg reported that Beijing, which would have to sign off on such a sale, is evaluating the potential of Musk operating TikTok alongside X, formerly Twitter if the video app is banned in the United States. Musk is the founder of Tesla, which sells vehicles in China.
Sources told Bloomberg that the discussion about Musk buying TikTok in the United States grew out of senior Chinese officials developing plans to work with the incoming Trump administration and its allies.
Last April, Musk posted on X that he was against banning TikTok in the United States despite the ban possibly benefitting his social media outlet.
“Doing so would be contrary to freedom of speech and expression,” Musk said then. “It is not what America stands for.”
Sources told Bloomberg, however, that Beijing would prefer that ByteDance continue to own TikTok and has not decided how to proceed. Musk has not commented on the report.
Unless the Supreme Court steps in, on Jan. 19 third-party Internet providers will be penalized for supporting TikTok operations in the United States. Trump, who pushed for the ban during his first administration, has since asked the court to delay the ban until his incoming administration can find a “political resolution.”
