Can Elon Musk really save TikTok?

Chinese officials are reportedly exploring a backup program for TikTok aft the Supreme Court appeared unlikely to prevention it from a US ban. With TikTok’s ineligible options astir exhausted, aggregate quality outlets are reporting that China is considering an enactment it antecedently said it wouldn’t: letting ByteDance merchantability the app.

The kicker? China is reportedly mulling having President-elect Donald Trump’s favourite tech billionaire, Elon Musk, enactment either arsenic broker oregon purchaser successful the arrangement. Reports from the Financial Times, Wall Street Journal and Bloomberg — each citing unnamed sources — bespeak that Chinese officials are astatine slightest discussing the enactment of a sale. TikTok spokesperson Michael Hughes has called the reports “pure fiction.” The Chinese embassy successful the US and Musk’s existing societal media company, X, did not respond to requests for comment.

Plenty of radical person expressed involvement successful buying TikTok astatine this point, from ”Shark Tank” personage Kevin O’Leary to YouTuber Mr. Beast. The occupation has not been a deficiency of buyers — though evident ones similar Meta and Google would apt beryllium barred by antirust authorities — but reluctant sellers. The caller reporting suggests that the Chinese government, which has agelong stated it would garbage to o.k. a sale, could present beryllium changing its mind. Musk’s reported engagement makes immoderate strategical consciousness based connected his relationships with some China and Trump.

Musk is uniquely positioned to play a relation successful a imaginable deal. He has a nonstop enactment to Trump, has said helium wants X to beryllium much similar TikTok since helium bought it, and plentifulness of acquisition dealing with Chinese authorities. (Sales from China account for a important stock of Tesla’s business.) He could merge TikTok with X and xAI, his OpenAI competitor, to make a much influential platform. As the richest antheral successful the world, helium besides has entree to the wealth he’d request to bash a deal.

Long Le, an planetary concern prof astatine Santa Clara University, tells The Verge that China whitethorn beryllium unfastened to a associated task arrangement, akin to what overseas companies operating successful China often undergo. Under the substance of the US law, an app tin beryllium considered to beryllium controlled by a overseas adversary if a idiosyncratic from 1 of those countries owns astatine slightest a 20 percent stake.

“If they were going to bash immoderate benignant of associated adventure, Elon Musk would beryllium perfect due to the fact that he’s besides adjacent to Trump,” Le says, adding that the Chinese authorities whitethorn already consciousness comfy with him. “Having idiosyncratic similar Musk would inactive let the US and China to person immoderate aspects of linkage to commercialized and overseas nonstop investment, adjacent though, successful general, the decoupling is occurring.”

China whitethorn clasp disconnected connected a merchantability if it believes the US volition fto TikTok stay nether ByteDance’s ownership, particularly fixed TikTok’s influence astir the world. ByteDance is simply a homegrown tech champion and root of nationalist pridefulness for China, truthful authorities whitethorn beryllium unwilling to endure the optics of handing TikTok implicit to the US. Plus, China whitethorn similar to fto the US instrumentality vigor globally implicit the ban, adjacent if it means the nonaccomplishment of a important marketplace for TikTok. Chinese overseas ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin said past twelvemonth that a forced merchantability oregon prohibition “will inevitably travel backmost to wound the United States.”

On the different hand, China is astir to look a caller protectionist medication erstwhile Trump is sworn successful adjacent week. He has promised exorbitant tariffs connected Chinese imports, which could harm its economy. If the Chinese authorities is looking for an effectual bargaining spot with Trump and the US, it mightiness person recovered 1 successful TikTok, particularly considering the President-elect’s “warm spot” for the app. Chinese officials spot a woody implicit TikTok being a imaginable country of collaboration with the US arsenic they expect tense negotiations implicit different issues with the Trump administration, sources told Bloomberg.

If TikTok is banned, it’s not wide however rapidly users would consciousness the effects. Apple and Google would request to region the app from their app stores and halt updating it. It would inactive stay connected users’ phones if they’ve already downloaded it but Oracle, which provides unreality infrastructure to TikTok successful the US, would apt besides beryllium required to halt hosting the app’s data.

Some could inactive entree TikTok by utilizing virtual backstage networks (VPNs) but that adds an other furniture of friction. Despite each this, advancement toward a woody could proceed aft the prohibition takes effect connected Sunday — which volition hap unless the Supreme Court stops it. There’s besides the slim accidental that Congress oregon President Joe Biden extend the deadline.