Chinese officials are reportedly exploring Elon Musk’s potential acquisition of TikTok’s US operations if ByteDance cannot overturn a possible ban.

Signals from the US Supreme Court suggest support for legislation requiring ByteDance to divest its US operations due to national security concerns.

Beijing prefers ByteDance to retain ownership but has discussed Musk’s X platform, formerly Twitter, as a possible buyer.

TikTok’s US user base of over 170 million offers significant advertising opportunities and data value. Analysts estimate that TikTok’s US operations are worth between US$40 billion and US$50 billion.

Representatives from both Musk’s and ByteDance’s teams declined to comment.