Sell TikTok To Elon Musk? App Calls Report ‘Pure Fiction.’

The U.S. Supreme Court is weighing a law that could ban the app in the U.S. later this month.

TikTok rejected a report Monday that the Chinese government is mulling a proposal to sell the company’s U.S. operations to billionaire Elon Musk to keep the app from being banned in America.

Bloomberg first reported the idea was just one option on the table as the U.S. Supreme Court weighs a law that could ban TikTok in the U.S. later this month. Congress passed bipartisan legislation last April to force the sale of the app, which is owned by the Chinese company ByteDance. Lawmakers say they are concerned users’ data could fall into the hands of the Chinese government, claiming the app represents a serious threat to national security.

The company has said such concerns about the app are unwarranted, and its lawyers argued before the Supreme Court recently that the law violates the First Amendment. The law established a Jan. 19 deadline for TikTok to sell the app or be banned (current users will likely still be able to access it, although with many difficulties).

The Bloomberg report, citing people familiar with the discussions, says the Chinese government has considered a scenario in which Musk’s other social media company, X, would take control of the U.S. operations for TikTok and run them jointly.

It’s unclear if ByteDance or Musk have been involved in such planning with the Chinese government, Bloomberg added.