TikTok weighs in on report platform will sell to Elon Musk amid potential US ban

The owners of TikTok have weighed in after reports began to circulate that they would sell the platform to Elon Musk.

TikTok has been making headlines recently because of fears that the app could soon be banned from operating in the United States. There is a deadline of 19 January 2025 for a resolution.

It comes amid concerns over the parent company, ByteDance, and its alleged ties to the Chinese government. US officials fear a security risk with the user data it is handling. There are thought to be 170 million TikTok users in the US alone.

On Monday, Bloombergclaimed that “Chinese officials are evaluating a potential option that involves Elon Musk acquiring the US operations of TikTok” if the ban were to go ahead.

However, TikTok themselves have since weighed in on the reports that it will sell to the tech billionaire Musk, calling them a work of “fiction”.

Responding to Variety’s request for comment on the matter, a TikTok representative said: “We can’t be expected to comment on pure fiction.”

While TikTok has all but ruled out selling the platform to the X/Twitter and Tesla owner, another person has put in a tongue-in-cheek offer to buy it – the content creator, MrBeast.

MrBeast, whose real name is Jimmy Donaldson, posted on X/Twitter, writing: “Okay fine, I’ll buy TikTok so it doesn’t get banned.”

Selling the platform would prevent a US ban, but ByteDance has had nine months in which to do so before the 19 January deadline and has not. Unless the Supreme Court rules to stop the ban from taking effect, TikTok will effectively be banned in the US in a matter of days.

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