Will Elon Musk buy "US operations of TikTok" if the ban is not reversed? Here's everything to know

TikTok’s fate in the United States is uncertain, with SCOTUS (Supreme Court of the United States) to give a final ruling on January 19, 2025.

Amidst the speculations around the China-based ByteDance’s short-form video content platform, Elon Musk’s name has popped up in the discussions. However, at the time of the writing, apart from a Bloomberg report, there is no substantial proof that Musk is buying TikTok US.

For those unaware, a report from Bloomberg has suggested that Chinese officials are considering selling the platform’s US operations to Musk if the law to ban the platform is upheld in the upcoming SCOTUS ruling. However, it is unclear whether ByteDance, TikTok, and Musk have actually held a meeting about the said deal.

Furthermore, it is reported that Beijing officials are also keen to keep ownership of ByteDance despite rumored discussions of considering Musk as a potential buyer. Besides the speculations, neither ByteDance nor Elon Musk have confirmed that the latter will acquire the US operations of the app if the ban stays.

A ByteDance representative even declined to comment to Bloomberg as they called the report on the Elon Musk deal “pure fiction.”

Elon Musk voiced support for TikTok after the US passed the bill to ban the platform

In April 2024, the US government passed a bill focused on ByteDance’s video platform. As per the bill, ByteDance and TikTok were required to cease their US operations or sell the company. Reacting to the news, Elon Musk wrote on X:

“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.”

Musk had previously called out the US government for “censorship” when the bill was presented in March 2024.

“This law is not just about TikTok, it is about censorship and government control! – If it were just about TikTok, it would only cite “foreign control” as the issue, but it does not.”

On a separate occasion, Musk defended the Chinese platform against the allegations of spewing “anti-American propaganda,”

“Our educational institutions have been spewing anti-American propaganda for long before TikTok came along. – Social media may amplify it, but the root of the mind virus is in our elite colleges.”

In December 2024, President-elect Donald Trump, whom the SpaceX CEO has supported throughout his campaign, also asked the SCOTUS to pause the ban. The court proceedings and the final decision will now decide the platform’s fate in the US.

For the uninitiated, Musk is known for investing in tech, evidenced by his $44 billion purchase of X (formerly Twitter). In addition to acquiring X, Musk founded xAI in 2023, a startup focused on artificial intelligence. Thus, the Tesla CEO purchasing the US business of ByteDance’s video hosting service might not seem unexpected.

Although Musk hasn’t addressed the reports suggesting him as a potential buyer, celebrities like Meek Mill and MrBeast have jokingly declared their desire to buy the platform. However, on a serious note, TikTok will have to cease its US operations or sell if SCOTUS upholds the decision.

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According to Wedbush analyst Dan Ives (reported by Forbes), ByteDance is likely to seek a price between $40 billion and $50 billion for US operations. Meanwhile, Chinese apps Xiaohongshu (aka REDNote) and Lemon8 have seen a surge in popularity on the App Store amid the speculations of a ban on ByteDance’s video hosting app.

As of January 2025, the controversial platform has reportedly over 170 million active users. Additionally, ByteDance apparently generated $16 billion in revenue in 2023 from the app’s US operations.