In a move that will come as no surprise to many, the world’s richest man could be poised to throw TikTok a lifeline. Chinese internet company ByteDance owns the short-form video hosting service, but with concerns that it could be used to spy on Americans, the U.S. government has threatened to ban the app as early as January 2025. January 19 is the all-important day, and with the clock ticking toward the deadline, ByteDance has been told that it has to sell to a non-Chinese organization or TikTok will be going dark in America.
President-elect Donald Trump has already intervened to ask for a delay, but with the Supreme Court throwing its weight around, many have been preparing for a TikTok-free America from January 19.
Now, Elon Musk is tipped to swoop in and save the day. Although Beijing officials would prefer TikTok to stay under ByteDance, Bloomberg News reports that Musk is in preliminary talks to acquire the app’s U.S. operations.
Sources claim that TikTok’s U.S. operations could sold through a competitive process or a forced arrangement by the government, suggesting that ByteDance no longer has a say in what happens next.
One potential scenario could see Musk’s X platform absorb TikTok’s in the U.S. and run the pair side by side. Then again, Bloomberg notes that a consensus hasn’t yet been reached.
Considering TikTok has some 170 million users in the USA, it could be a lucrative partnership that would help Musk attract advertisers to X. The site also says that Musk’s xAI artificial intelligence company could benefit from the masses of data that TikTok generates.
With the Chinese government having a ‘golden share’ in ByteDance, this is said to be a contributing factor in why members of Congress are concerned about its hold over TikTok.
At the time of writing, Musk and his representatives didn’t respond to requests for comment, nor did the Cyberspace Administration of China and China’s Ministry of Commerce government agencies expected to be involved in these all-important decisions.
Elon Musk could save TikTok with a lucrative deal to take over U.S. operations (Anna Moneymaker / Staff / Getty)
Musk has been vocal about TikTok’s potential ban, posting on X in April 2024 and saying: “In my opinion, TikTok should not be banned in the USA, even though such a ban may benefit the X platform.
“Doing so would be contrary to freedom of speech and expression. It is not what America stands for.”
The impending Trump administration has already pointed at tough times ahead for China, with increased tariffs and export controls poised to improve U.S. industries and clamp down on Chinese ones.
Still, it’s thought that these TikTok negotiations could be some form of reconciliation between these opposing world powers.
Bloomberg Intelligence analysts Mandeep Singh and Damian Reimertz estimated that TikTok’s U.S. operations are valued at anywhere between $40 billion and $50 billion, so it’s unclear how a deal with Musk would work. Even though he’s by far and away the world’s richest man, he’s still paying off some sizeable loans from his Twitter purchase in 2022.TikTok isn’t out of the woods yet, but Elon Musk taking the reins wouldn’t be the strangest thing to happen in the tech world.
Elon Musk issues single-word response to ‘surprising’ poll result debating his involvement in UK politics
Elon Musk has continued his social media rant session against the UK government, issuing a single word in response to a poll that in his eyes justifies his actions.
It’s been hard to ignore X owner Elon Musk‘s tirade on the platform over the past few days, as he’s stirred international conflict in a push against the UK government, Prime Minister Keir Starmer, and Safeguarding Minister Jess Phillips.
Past incidents of grooming gangs – particularly the Rochdale case – have been the primary subject of Musk’s focus, and he has pledged strong support for far-right figureheads like Tommy Robinson, Nigel Farage, and the Reform UK party.
This is far from the first time that Musk has keenly involved himself in politics, as he has been a key player in Donald Trump’s election campaign and post-victory plans, alongside showing support for far-right German political party Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) that has left him in potential legal trouble with France.
Additionally, he has hinted at donating $100,000,000 to Reform UK in the past, and despite recent claims that ‘Farage doesn’t have what it takes’, Musk’s commitment to the party appears unwavering.
One recent poll posted by the richest man in the world appeared to indicate that America should ‘invade’ the UK in order to overthrow the government, and this led Keir Starmer to claim that Musk has ‘crossed a line’ and that he’s not interested in victims, but instead ‘interested in himself’.
Due to the statement from the prime minister, ITV’s morning news and talk show Good Morning Britain posted a poll on X asking: “Should Elon Musk stay out of British Politics?”
The poll itself garnered 42,436 votes, and ‘No’ emerged victorious with 65.8% of the vote share.
Musk appeared to enjoy this result himself, posting a screenshot of the poll with the simple caption: “Lmao,” indicating that he was rather pleased with the proceedings.
He also quoted a post from David Atherton about the poll, declaring “Thank you, Britain!” This is in reference to Atherton’s statement that “nearly two-thirds of Brits welcome Elon Musk’s involvement in UK politics,” but it is near impossible that the only respondents to the poll were from the UK as X is a site with a global userbase, and is therefore not reflective of the British population.
As reported by the Guardian, Jess Phillips has received support from victims of the Telford sexual abuse scandal, which is one of the incidents that has drawn Musk’s focus.
