TikTok rejects report of possible sale of US operations to Elon Musk as ban looms: 'Pure fiction'

TikTok on Tuesday dismissed a report that claimed China was considering selling its US operations to tech billionaire Elon Musk as "pure fiction," pushing back on speculation of high-level discussions involving the social media platform's future.

A report by Bloomberg News claimed that Chinese officials were exploring contingency plans, including a sale to Musk, should TikTok fail to overturn a looming US ban. Such a deal could bolster X’s ad revenue while leveraging TikTok’s 170 million US users and its vast data repository to complement Musk’s artificial intelligence endeavours through xAI.

"We can't be expected to comment on pure fiction," BBC News quoted a TikTok spokesperson as saying.

Musk, a known ally of President-elect Donald Trump, has previously expressed support for keeping TikTok operational in the US. “In my opinion, TikTok should not be banned in the USA, even though such a ban may benefit the X platform,” Musk wrote in April. “Doing so would be contrary to freedom of speech and expression. It is not what America stands for.”

The Chinese government, which holds a “golden share” in a ByteDance affiliate, is expected to influence any potential sale.

Beijing has so far shown a strong preference for TikTok to remain under the ownership of its parent company, ByteDance Ltd.

The Supreme Court justices, however, have hinted at siding with the US government’s national security concerns over ByteDance’s free speech arguments.

TikTok’s US business is estimated to be worth $40-50 billion, according to Bloomberg News, a valuation that would test even Musk’s financial reach. The Tesla CEO is still paying off sizable loans for the $44 billion acquisition of Twitter, now X, in 2022.

In the past, Microsoft Corp. and Oracle Corp. have shown interest in acquiring US operations of TikTok, while Project Liberty, backed by billionaire Frank McCourt and investor Kevin O’Leary, has emerged as a possible contender.