China considers selling TikTok U.S. operations to Musk: Bloomberg

The Chinese government is considering a plan that would have Elon Musk acquire TikTok’s American operations to keep the app from being effectively banned, Bloomberg News reported on Monday

The contingency plan is one of several options China is exploring as the U.S. Supreme Court determines whether to uphold a law requiring China-based ByteDance to divest TikTok’s U.S. business by Dec. 19. January, the report said, citing anonymous sources.

After this term, third-party Internet service providers will be penalized for supporting TikTok’s operations in the country.

Under the plan, Musk will oversee both X, which he currently owns, and TikTok’s US business, Bloomberg reported. However, Chinese government officials have not yet decided whether to proceed, the report said, noting that the plan is still preliminary.

It is unclear whether ByteDance is aware of the Chinese government’s plans and the involvement of TikTok and Musk in the discussions, the report said. Senior Chinese officials are discussing contingency plans involving TikTok’s future in the United States as part of larger discussions about working with the president-elect. Donald Trumpthe adjusted report.

A TikTok spokesperson said in an email to CNBC: “We cannot be expected to comment on pure fiction.” X did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Last week, the Supreme Court held oral arguments on the law that would potentially ban TikTok, which President Joe Biden signed in April. TikTok’s legal team has argued that the law violates the free speech rights of millions of users in the United States, while the US government has said that ByteDance’s ownership of TikTok poses a national security risk.

With the Supreme Court appearing to side with the government, TikTok could return to Trump when his second term begins on January 20. Trump, who favored a ban on TikTok during his first administration, has since flip-flopped on the matter. At the end of last month, he I urged the Supreme Court to step in and forcefully delay the implementation of Biden’s ban to give time to find a “political solution.”

Trump’s rhetoric on TikTok has begun to backfire on him meeting in February with billionaire Jeff Yass, a Republican megadonor and a major investor in ByteDance who also has a stake in the owner of Social truthTrump’s social media company.

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