Pure Fantasy... TikTok Comments on Reports of Company Sale to Elon Musk


TikTok has described reports claiming that China is exploring the possibility of selling the platform to American billionaire Elon Musk as "pure fantasy."



Earlier, Bloomberg reported, citing informed sources, that Chinese officials were considering selling the company’s operations in the United States to Musk’s social media platform.


The report outlined one of the scenarios being discussed in Beijing, where X Corporation would purchase TikTok from its Chinese owner ByteDance and merge it with the platform formerly known as Twitter.


A TikTok spokesperson told AFP: "You can’t expect us to comment on pure fantasy."


The report estimated the value of TikTok’s U.S. operations to range between $40 billion and $50 billion.


Although Musk is currently ranked as the richest person in the world, Bloomberg said it is unclear how Musk would execute the deal or whether he would need to sell other assets.


The U.S. Congress passed a law last year requiring ByteDance to either sell its hugely popular platform or shut it down. The law goes into effect on Sunday, one day before President-elect Donald Trump takes office.


The U.S. government claims that TikTok allows Beijing to gather data and spy on users.


China and ByteDance deny these allegations. TikTok has challenged the law and appealed the decision to the U.S. Supreme Court, which heard oral arguments on Friday.


During the hearing, most of the conservative and liberal justices on the nine-member court appeared skeptical of the arguments presented by TikTok's lawyer that forcing a sale violated First Amendment free speech rights.


Bloomberg described Beijing’s exploration of a potential deal with Musk as "still preliminary," noting that Chinese officials have not yet reached a consensus on how to proceed.


Musk is a close ally of Trump and is expected to play an influential role in Washington in the coming years. He also runs electric car company Tesla, which has a large factory in China and considers the country one of the largest markets for the automotive industry.


Trump has repeatedly threatened to impose new tariffs on Chinese goods, which would expand the trade war that began during his first term, a conflict that was largely supported by outgoing President Joe Biden.