Chinese officials are considering Tesla Inc. (NASDAQ: TLSA) CEO Elon Musk as a potential buyer for TikTok's U.S. operations, as the social media platform faces a Jan. 19 deadline to divest or shut down.
What Happened: The discussions, though preliminary, envision a potential scenario where Musk's X platform could take over TikTok's U.S. operations, Bloomberg reported on Monday, citing sources and estimates, valuing the deal between $40 billion to $50 billion. The move would combine TikTok's 170 million U.S. users with X's advertising reach.
Beijing officials, who retain influence through a "golden share" in ByteDance's Chinese affiliate, see Musk as an attractive option because of his existing relationships in China through Tesla's Shanghai factory and his close ties to President-elect Donald Trump, the report said.
Musk's track record with social media acquisitions includes his $44 billion purchase of Twitter in 2022, which he later rebranded as X. The controversial takeover was financed through a combination of personal funds, investment partners, and substantial bank loans, which he continues to service.
"We can't be expected to comment on pure fiction," a TikTok spokesperson told Benzinga.
Why It Matters: The deliberations come as the Supreme Court signals support for upholding legislation requiring ByteDance to sell TikTok's U.S. operations. Trump, who takes office on Jan. 20, has requested a delay in implementing the ban, marking a shift from his previous stance on the platform.
The deal is very challenging, what with the tricky separation of its U.S. business and potential funding issues, even for the world's richest person. Other bidders include Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ: MSFT) and Oracle Corp. (NASDAQ: ORCL), as well as a consortium led by the "Shark Tank" investor Kevin O'Leary.
If no deal is reached by the deadline, TikTok users will lose access to updates and security patches, though existing app installations will continue working. Meta Platforms Inc. (NASDAQ: META) and Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG) (NASDAQ: GOOGL) subsidiary Google's YouTube may gain from the migration of creators to their platforms.