The countdown is on for the US ban on the popular Chinese app TikTok unless ByteDance, the app’s parent company, divests its US operations to an American entity. According to multiple reports yesterday, Chinese officials are evaluating a potential option that involves Elon Musk acquiring the US operations of TikTok if the company fails to fend off this controversial ban through other means.

Let’s take it back a bit

US policymakers fear that ByteDance could share the data it collects on its one hundred million American users with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). As a result, in April 2024, the US Congress passed a bill, which President Joe Biden signed into law, giving ByteDance nine months to find a US-approved buyer or see TikTok shut down across the US. Those nine months end this Sunday, 19 January.

What’s Musk got to do with it?

Musk famously purchased Twitter back in 2022 and rebranded the app to X, cementing his ‘social media mogul’ status in the space.

As a close ally of President-elect Donald Trump, both men have said they oppose outlawing TikTok in the United States. Musk posted in April that he thinks TikTok should remain available in the US.

Not to mention, Musk has a close relationship with Beijing, and officials there most likely feel that they have leverage over Musk: China accounts for about 40 percent of Tesla’s sales.

For Musk, adding TikTok alongside X could significantly broaden the audience of his social media empire, making it more appealing to advertisers. Additionally, TikTok produces an enormous volume of data that could prove invaluable for training the artificial intelligence models of his xAI initiative.

On the other hand, Musk’s takeover of Twitter did plunge the platform into chaos. After slashing thousands of jobs—including dissolving its Trust and Safety Council— X became a breeding ground for misinformation, spam, and hate speech. Cue an advertiser exodus, with brands like Pfizer and Volkswagen ditching the site amid concerns over moderation. X’s valuation plummeted by nearly 80%, and Musk’s penchant for using it to play political games and spread questionable claims hasn’t helped. Will his possible takeover of TikTok follow suit?

So, for many, a sale to Musk makes sense. For others, not so much.

TikTok, however, has dismissed reports of a sale to the world’s richest person as “pure fiction”. 

Perhaps the US has to continue its search for a solution.

But wait, what about Trump?

Donald Trump’s win in the 2024 election could serve as a lifeline for TikTok.

Yes, he tried to ban the app while he was in the White House in 2020. But now he has changed his mind and called on the US Supreme Court to delay the ban while he works on a “political resolution”. They may give an answer today.

Trump’s inauguration into office takes place on 20 January, a day after the ban is set to commence. The law which outlines the ban also empowers the president to pause the ban for 90 days if TikTok shows it’s in the process of separating from ByteDance, so Trump could pause it once he takes office. Though without actual evidence showing ByteDance is divesting, Trump’s pause may not be legally sound, meaning it could be challenged in court, and the ban could take effect anyway.

Several lawmakers support a similar 90-day extension on the deadline, with Senator Markey stating, “The TikTok ban was rushed through without sufficient consideration of the profound consequences it would have on the 170 million Americans who use the platform”. This would give TikTok more time to begin the divesting process.

Trump could also simply declare TikTok compliant with the law, whether or not it truly separates from ByteDance, observed Alan Rozenshtein, a law professor at the University of Minnesota. This would allow TikTok to remain legal but, similarly to the 90-day pause, could invite court challenges if ByteDance has not genuinely divested.

So, all in all, something has to change in order for TikTok to continue to be enjoyed by the US.

This article has been edited on 16 January 2025 for clarity and to provide additional context while preserving the original intent and key information of the story