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The Chinese government is considering a plan that would have Elon Musk to take over TikTok’s US operations so the app is not effectively banned, Bloomberg News reported on Monday.
The contingency plan is one of several options China is exploring as the U.S. Supreme Court decides whether to uphold a law calling on Chinese company ByteDance to divest itself of TikTok’s U.S. operations by Jan. 19, the report said, citing anonymous sources.
After that deadline, third-party internet service providers would be penalized for supporting TikTok’s operations in the country.
Under the plan, Musk would oversee both X, which he currently owns, and TikTok’s US operations, Bloomberg said. However, Chinese government officials have not yet decided whether to proceed, the report said, noting that the plan is still preliminary.
It’s unclear whether ByteDance knows about the Chinese government’s plans and TikTok and Musk’s involvement in the discussions, the report said. Top Chinese officials are discussing contingency plans involving TikTok’s future in the US as part of larger discussions about working with the president-elect Donald Trumpis added in the 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 a law that would potentially ban TikTok, which President Joe Biden signed in April. TikTok’s legal team argued that the law violates the free speech rights of millions of US users, while the US government said ByteDance’s ownership of TikTok poses a national security risk.
With the Supreme Court appearing to side with the government, TikTok could turn to Trump when his second term begins on January 20. Trump, who was in favor of banning TikTok during his first administration, has since relented on the issue. Late last month, he forced Supreme Court to intervene and forcibly delay the implementation of Biden’s ban to give him time to find a “political solution.”
Trump’s rhetoric on TikTok began to change after he met in February with billionaire Jeff Yass, a Republican megadonor and major investor in ByteDance who also owns a stake Social truthTrump’s social media company.
