Firm calls announcement of possible sale to Musk “pure fiction”

TikTok has dismissed a report that China is considering allowing the sale of the social media company’s U.S. operations to Elon Musk as “pure fiction.”

The company’s comments follow a Bloomberg report that Chinese officials are considering an option that could see its operations in America sold to the world’s richest person if the US Supreme Court upholds the ban on the application.

Supreme Court justices are expected to rule on a law setting a January 19 deadline for TikTok to sell its U.S. business or face a ban in the country.

TikTok has repeatedly said it will not sell its U.S. business.

“We cannot be expected to comment on pure fiction,” a TikTok spokesperson told BBC News.

Bloomberg reported, citing people familiar with the matter, that one possible scenario being considered by Chinese authorities would see Musk’s social media platform X take control of TikTok’s U.S. operations.

X did not immediately respond to a request for comment from the BBC.

Musk is a close ally of US President-elect Donald Trumpwho is expected to return to the White House on January 20.

Last month, Trump urged the Supreme Court to delay his decision until he takes office to allow him to seek a “political resolution.”

His attorney filed a legal brief with the court that said Trump “opposes the TikTok ban” and “seeks the opportunity to resolve the issues at hand through political means once he takes office.”

This came a week after Trump met with TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida.

On Monday, two Democratic lawmakers, Sen. Edward Markey and Rep. Ro Khanna, also called on Congress and President Joe Biden to extend the Jan. 19 deadline.

At a Supreme Court hearing last week, the justices appeared inclined to respect the law and meet the deadline.

During nearly three hours of debate, the nine justices returned repeatedly to the national security concerns that gave rise to the law.

The Biden administration has argued that without a sale, TikTok could be used by China as a tool for espionage and political manipulation.

The company has repeatedly denied any influence from the Chinese Communist Party and said the law banning it in the United States violated its users’ First Amendment rights to free speech.