Chinese government officials are reportedly mulling selling TikTok's US operations to Elon Musk to avoid a complete ban in the country.

After years of rejecting the idea of a sale of TikTok’s US assets to an American buyer in order to avert a ban, China and ByteDance may have found an owner they could live with: Elon Musk.

Chinese officials are reportedly exploring a backup plan for TikTok after the Supreme Court appeared unlikely to save it from a US ban. With TikTok’s legal options nearly exhausted, multiple news outlets are reporting that China is considering an option it previously said it wouldn’t: letting ByteDance sell the app.

TikTok’s time will expire on Jan. 19 if no buyer is found or the Supreme Court rules in the app’s favor. Here’s what to know.

Could Elon Musk save TikTok in the US? China weighs option to sell the controversial TikTok social media app's US operations ahead of looming ban

Chinese government officials have reportedly discussed a scenario where ByteDance sells TikTok's United States arm to Elon Musk, should the Supreme Court

As the Jan. 19 date for a TikTok ban approaches, another name is emerging as a potential buyer: SpaceX and Tesla CEO Elon Musk, who already owns X.

Chinese officials have reportedly discussed selling TikTok's US operations to Elon Musk as the threat of a US ban looms.

Americans are going to lose access to TikTok in less than a week, unless China green-lights a sale to what Congress has deemed a non-adversary of the United States — something China is unlikely to do but might.

Chinese officials reportedly want ByteDance Ltd. to remain the owners of TikTok but is in discussion on how to work with the Trump Administration.

Musk acquired X (then Twitter) in October 2022 after a highly publicized back and forth, in which he gave up on the acquisition midway but ultimately closed the deal, paying $44 billion for the platform. X's user base has been on a decline since the acquisition, and advertising revenues have plummeted.