China Considers Elon Musk Option for US TikTok Sales

With clock running down on an impending US ban, China is considering an interesting contingency plan for TikTok. Officials in Beijing are said to be evaluating a potential option that would involve Elon Musk taking over the US operations of the short video app if the company fails to fend off the controversial ban. China is said to prefer that TikTok remain under the ownership of parent company ByteDance, and the company has appealed to the US Supreme Court, but judges signaled during arguments on January 10 that they are likely to uphold the law. The talks in Beijing suggest that TikTok’s fate may no longer be in ByteDance’s sole control. On the US side, President-elect Donald Trump, who takes office on January 20, has tried to delay the ban – which takes effect on January 19 – so he can work on the negotiations. Still, Xiaohongshu and Lemon8 have taken over the top two spots on Apple’s iPhone download charts in the US as users search for alternatives.

Nvidia boss Jensen Huang is making a trip to China this week, visiting major cities at a time when Beijing is scrutinizing his company’s domestic presence and Washington is slapping new restrictions on the sale of its AI chips abroad. The CEO is said to arrive in Shenzhen for employees’ annual Lunar New Year celebration around January 15, days before Trump is sworn in for a second term. Huang’s plans are also said to include stops in Shanghai and Beijing and Taipei later this week.