Elon Musk may buy US arm of TikTok: reports

According to Bloomberg, Chinese officials are considering selling TikTok's U.S. operations to Elon Musk. If the deal goes through, TikTok's U.S. business would be controlled by Musk's X Corp. This move has sparked widespread attention and discussion, with many analysts weighing in on the potential implications.

Bloomberg points out that TikTok has 170 million users in the United States, and this user data would be of great value to Musk's artificial intelligence company, xAI. The valuation of TikTok's U.S. business is estimated to be between $65 billion and $80 billion. While Musk's net worth is estimated at $672 billion, almost all of his assets are invested in other projects such as Tesla, Starlink, and SpaceX, making the acquisition a complex financial undertaking.

TikTok has denied Bloomberg's report. A spokesperson told Variety magazine, "We don't comment on pure fiction." However, if Musk were to acquire TikTok, Zareh Ghazarian, head of the Monash University School of Social Sciences, stated that it would give Musk an even greater voice in the public sphere. He added that this could be a double-edged sword, as some who disagree with Musk's views might choose other platforms, potentially fragmenting the social media landscape.

In April, the United States passed a bipartisan bill forcing TikTok to sell its U.S. operations or be banned from operating in the country. The Biden administration has long argued that TikTok's algorithm is manipulating young Americans. TikTok's parent company, ByteDance, is considering whether to sell or shut down the business. The ban is expected to take effect on January 19, unless a sale is completed before then, creating a tight deadline for any potential deal.

ByteDance had hoped the U.S. Supreme Court would provide a last-minute reprieve. But after a two-and-a-half-hour hearing on Friday, the Supreme Court seemed inclined to uphold the law. Currently, developments are ongoing, and the future direction is attracting much attention, with the global tech community closely monitoring the situation.