How Elon Musk Could Gain Control of US TikTok Operations Under New Deal Proposed by Spy Scandal-Hit Chinese Officials
Elon Musk could use his billions to purchase TikTok's U.S. operations.
Jan. 14 2025, Published 5:30 p.m. ET
TikTok may be saved by none other than Elon Musk.
RadarOnline.com can reveal China is said to be discussing alternative to keep the app's U.S. operations afloat amid rumors the tech mogul may purchase the platform.
News of Musk, 53, potentially buying the app comes as the future of the platform remains uncertain after Congress voted to ban TikTok citing national security concerns stemming from the app's parent company, ByteDance Ltd., of which the Chinese government owns a "golden share."
Lawmakers raised alarm over the Chinese government potentially accessing millions of U.S. users' personal data while also using the app to surveil Americans.
Congress passed the bill with bipartisan support in 2024, setting the app to 'go dark' on January 19, 2025.
The Supreme Court heard oral arguments over the potential ban on January 10.
While lawyers for ByteDance Ltd. argued the ban violated First Amendment rights, the conservative-controlled court appeared poised to uphold the ban, though a ruling has yet to be announced.
Now, the app faces a slow death within a matter of days if a new owner doesn't step in and save the platform.
A source claimed Beijing officials have 'begun to debate contingency plans' for U.S. operations.
Beijing officials were said to be exploring alternative outlets in an attempt to keep the app online in the U.S. – and also avoid potential geopolitical and economic repercussions between the two countries.
A source said: "Senior Chinese officials had already begun to debate contingency plans for TikTok."
One of those potential "contingency plans" was said to involve Musk taking over U.S. operations. Given the app's high price tag, only few billionaires could afford to buy the app, leading to speculation Musk may be the one to pull the trigger on the purchase.
Musk previously purchased Twitter for $44billion in 2022.
If rumors manifested to reality, Musk would acquire another social media platform after he purchased Twitter, now known as X, in October 2022 for $44billion.
Musk previously shared his opinion on the ban in April 2024, writing on X: "In my opinion, TikTok should not be banned in the USA, even though such a ban may benefit the X platform.
"Doing so would be contrary to freedom of speech and expression. It is not what American stands for."
TikTok users have started to migrate to Chinese-controlled social platform RedNote in anticipation of the ban.
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While Musk toted American values as his reasoning for not supporting the ban, purchasing the app would be a major boost for his AI enterprise, xAI. The purchase would give the Tesla CEO access to TikTok's over 170 million users and their data.
But it remains unclear whether talks are in the works between Musk, ByteDance and Chinese officials; however, president-elect and close pal of Musk Donald Trump pushed for the ban – which is scheduled to "go dark" on January 19 – to be delayed until after he takes office on January 21 suggested his incoming administration may want to strike a deal with China.
Meanwhile, TikTok users, specifically those belonging to Gen Z, are moving over to a similar Chinese-controlled app called RedNote, also known as Xiaohongshu, in droves in anticipation of the ban.
As U.S. users migrated to the app, Chinese RedNote users jokingly welcomed the "TikTok refugees" with open arms, interacting with videos and sharing memes on the platform.
