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. This deal could potentially place TikTok's U.S. business under the control of Musk's X platform.

Bloomberg points out that TikTok's 170 million users in the U.S. could provide valuable data for Musk's artificial intelligence company, xAI. Furthermore, acquiring TikTok could help the X platform attract advertisers.

TikTok's U.S. operations are valued at approximately $65 billion to $80 billion. While Musk has a net worth of around $672 billion, almost all of his wealth is tied up in other ventures such as Tesla, Starlink, and SpaceX. Since Bloomberg's report, TikTok has denied these rumors. A representative told Variety magazine, "We can't comment on what is purely fictional."

Monash University political science department head Zareh Ghazarian, in an interview with 9news.com.au, stated that owning TikTok would give Elon Musk a stronger voice in public opinion. "Mr. Musk has very strong views about what the internet should look like and what it should provide, and I suspect that that would filter through to TikTok," he said. "But that might also be a double-edged sword. Those who don't necessarily agree with his views on certain things might look for other platforms or exit the platform entirely."

In April of this year, the U.S. passed a bipartisan bill that would force a sale if TikTok wants to continue operating in the U.S. The Biden administration has long believed that TikTok's algorithm is manipulating young Americans. Its parent company, ByteDance, is currently considering whether to sell the business or shut it down. Unless a sale occurs, the ban will take effect on January 19th. ByteDance had hoped the U.S. Supreme Court would provide a last-minute reprieve for the company. However, after a two-and-a-half-hour hearing on Friday, the Supreme Court appears inclined to uphold the law.