Chinese officials reportedly discuss sale of TikTok in US to Elon Musk

Tech company rejects as pure fiction' a report that a deal could take place if it fails to avoid an impending ban

Chinese officials have reportedly held preliminary talks about a potential option to sell TikTok's operations in the US to the billionaire Elon Musk, should the short-video app be unable to avoid an impending ban. Another option is that Musk acts as a broker in a deal to sell the app.

Beijing officials prefer that TikTok remains under the control of its Chinese parent, Bytedance, but have discussed other options including a sale to Musk, Bloomberg reported. The Financial Times reported on the same day that the officials had discussed the preliminary possibility of Musk functioning as a go-between for Bytedance and any potential buyer that would prevent the app from being shut down.