Chinese government officials are reportedly discussing a plan to sell ByteDance’s US division of TikTok to Elon Musk if the US Supreme Court upholds a law banning the app on January 19. The report comes via TechCrunch, citing Bloomberg.

According to the report, China prefers to keep TikTok under ByteDance’s ownership. However, selling TikTok’s US operations is being considered as part of a strategic approach to dealing with the new US administration under President Donald Trump. Under the proposed plan, Musk’s company X would acquire TikTok US, gaining access to its 170 million American users and a significant stream of advertising revenue.

A TikTok spokesperson dismissed the report, calling it “entirely fictional.”

It remains unclear to what extent ByteDance and TikTok are aware of or involved in the discussions, as per the report.

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