China Considers Elon Musk Option for TikTok US Sale

With the 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 involves Elon Musk acquiring the US operation of the short-video app if the company fails to fend off the controversial ban. China is said to strongly prefer that TikTok remains under the ownership of parent ByteDance, and the company has appealed to the US Supreme Court, but justices signaled during arguments on Jan. 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 Jan. 20, has sought to delay the ban — which takes effect Jan. 19 — so he can work on the negotiations. Even so, Xiaohongshu and Lemon8 have taken over the top two positions on Apple’s iPhone download charts in the US as users seek out alternatives.

Nvidia chief Jensen Huang is embarking on a trip to China this week, visiting major cities at a time Beijing is investigating his company’s domestic presence and Washington is slapping new curbs on the sale of its AI chips abroad. The CEO is said to be arriving in Shenzhen for employees’ annual Lunar New Year celebrations around Jan. 15, days before Trump gets sworn in for a second term. Huang’s plans are said to also include stops in Shanghai and Beijing, and Taipei later this week.