Elon Musk could be China’s pick to buy TikTok, report says

Chinese officials have reportedly discussed selling TikTok's US operations to Elon Musk as the threat of a US ban looms. Sources "familiar with the matter" told Bloomberg that Chinese officials would "strongly prefer" that ByteDance remain in control of TikTok US, but if TikTok's bid to get the Supreme Court to block the ban fails, ByteDance wants to be prepared with "contingency plans." One of those supposed contingency plans would apparently see Musk operating TikTok as part of X (formerly Twitter) operations. Under that scenario, Musk's X would control TikTok US, sources said, and thus gain access to a massive trove of TikTok data that the US has alleged poses a grave national security risk if left under a Chinese-owned company's control. It's unclear if Musk would even want to buy TikTok or have the bandwidth to do so, Bloomberg noted. TikTok could cost up to $50 billion, Bloomberg Intelligence analysts Mandeep Singh and Damian Reimertz estimated last year. And although Musk tops the list of the world's richest men, he has been trying to pay off X's debt since he famously overpaid to purchase Twitter for $44 billion in 2022 amid a seemingly ongoing X ad boycott. It's also possible that the US government wouldn't approve the sale to Musk, Bloomberg noted, but Musk has become a close Donald Trump ally, which could help push through the sale if all parties agreed. But buying TikTok could be an attractive option for Musk. Earlier this month, marketing intelligence firm Sensor Tower told Ars that X's global daily average users were down by 13 percent in the final quarter of 2024 compared to the prior year, while millions of TikTok users are still clinging to their favorite app. Musk could benefit from gaining access to TikTok's unique data set on 170 million users, possibly benefiting from perhaps a more reliable source of revenue while continuing to experiment with X's ongoing transformation into an "everything app." Bloomberg noted that acquiring TikTok could also be a powerful data grab to supercharge xAI. The Supreme Court could rule on the TikTok appeal by Wednesday, Forbes reported, deciding whether TikTok must divest or face a ban in the US starting on January 19. Many outlets have suggested that a majority of justices are leaning toward banning TikTok, but free speech advocates continue to implore the court to side with TikTok and safeguard Americans' First Amendment rights. No one is sure which way the court will sway just yet. It's also unclear if ByteDance has explored options among potential buyers who have emerged (sources say that Chinese officials have done so). That includes a bid through Project Liberty that Trump—who opposes the TikTok ban and plans to make a deal to "save" the app—has apparently already weighed from billionaire Frank McCourt and Shark Tank investor Kevin O’Leary, Bloomberg reported. Other reportedly interested buyers could be Microsoft or Oracle, Bloomberg suggested. ByteDance has maintained that a sale would be "extraordinarily difficult" and technically impossible by the January 19 deadline. Musk, TikTok, and Chinese officials declined to comment on Bloomberg's report. A ByteDance spokesperson told Bloomberg, "We can’t be expected to comment on pure fiction." Bloomberg's report suggested that China views TikTok as an attractive bargaining chip amid strained US-China trade relations. As Trump has threatened to increase tariffs on all Chinese imports, China agreeing to sell TikTok to a US buyer could help persuade Trump to diminish those blows, the thinking goes. And while TikTok and ByteDance have maintained that China does not control the US-based TikTok, it is expected that China will have to approve any sale of TikTok "that includes TikTok’s valuable recommendation engine," Bloomberg reported.

Mass confusion over TikTok alternatives

The Supreme Court has said it will make a decision on whether TikTok must be sold or banned by January 19. As the clock winds down and reports suggest that a ban could be imminent, TikTok users have begun seeking alternatives, with content creators who risk losing their livelihoods overnight expected to be hit hardest by a ban. Sensor Tower previously told Ars that Musk's X stands to benefit from displaced TikTok users seeking a new home. But in the weeks since the election, X has shed about 6 percent of users, as its rival Bluesky saw users spike by as much as 185 percent, suggesting X might not be the most popular pick. Some TikTok users could also see Instagram Reels as a suitable alternative to TikTok, as it was basically developed as a TikTok copycat. But the threat of the ban comes just as Meta made unpopular policy changes, ditching its fact-checking efforts and relaxing its hate speech policies, which TechCrunch reported caused Google searches for how to delete Facebook and Instagram to spike. TikTokers could also flock to YouTube, which remains one of the most profitable platforms for creators on the planet. But that would surely rile some YouTube users who dislike YouTube Shorts clogging up the homepage. Rather than move to a popular US app, however, many contrarian TikTokers are eyeing other Chinese-owned apps, including ByteDance-owned Lemon8. Both Lemon8 and an app owned by another Chinese company called Xiaohongshu—which Americans know as Red Note—reached the top two spots in Apple's App Store rankings Monday, Business Insider reported. On Red Note, TikTokers are gathering under a hashtag, "TikTokrefugee," The New York Times reported. As of Tuesday, the hashtag had been viewed more than 100 million times and referenced in 2.5 million comments. According to a Times review of TikTok videos, TikTokers said they were moving to Red Note because "they wanted to show they do not share Washington’s concerns about TikTok’s ties to China." But TikTokers could be in for a rude awakening if TikTok is banned and the Chinese-owned app they choose as their new home quickly becomes the next app to be blocked in the US within a few months. Under the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act that would force TikTok's sale or require a ban, any "foreign adversary controlled" social media app with more than 1 million monthly active users could be banned. ByteDance and TikTok are both singled out by the law, meaning any meaningful spike in US users on other ByteDance apps would likely trigger scrutiny. It's unclear if Red Note would be as easily targeted by the government, but any Chinese-owned social media app that meets very basic requirements—allowing more than a million monthly active users to share content that can be viewed by others—could potentially be banned if the Supreme Court upholds the law. An analyst at the market research company Emarketer, Jasmine Enberg, told The Independent that TikTokers recommending apps like Lemon8 "may not be aware of the possible implications for the other ByteDance apps because the law does not identify them."