ByteDance, TikTok’s parent company, is required to sell the app to a U.S.-based buyer or face a nationwide ban.

Musk acquired X (then Twitter) in October 2022 after a highly publicized back and forth, in which he gave up on the acquisition midway but ultimately closed the deal, paying $44 billion for the platform. X's user base has been on a decline since the acquisition, and advertising revenues have plummeted.

Could Elon Musk save TikTok in the US? China weighs option to sell the controversial TikTok social media app's US operations ahead of looming ban

As the Jan. 19 date for a TikTok ban approaches, another name is emerging as a potential buyer: SpaceX and Tesla CEO Elon Musk, who already owns X.

Chinese officials have reportedly discussed selling TikTok's US operations to Elon Musk as the threat of a US ban looms.

Chinese officials reportedly want ByteDance Ltd. to remain the owners of TikTok but is in discussion on how to work with the Trump Administration.

Elon Musk opposed the ban on TikTok in US citing free speech concerns but criticised the lack of reciprocity, pointing out that TikTok operates freely in the US while platforms like X remain banned in China.

TikTok faces U.S. ban on Jan. 19, leaving 170M users scrambling for alternatives amid national security concerns and data privacy debates.

Musk also shared an earlier post of his where he had argued that a ban on TikTok would be contrary to freedom of speech and expression. It is not what America stands for, he said adding that even though the ban will benefit X.

Questions loom over TikTok's future after a U.S. ban went into effect Saturday. Do workarounds like VPNs work? Will it come back? What we know so far.

Elon Musk criticized the situation where TikTok operates in the US, but X is banned in China, calling it unbalanced and emphasizing the need for change, while also expressing his long-standing opposition to banning TikTok.