TikTok is denying a report that it’s considering a sale of its U.S. operations to Elon Musk.

On Monday, Bloomberg reported that ByteDance, the Chinese tech company that owns TikTok, has been evaluating Musk as a potential buyer. The U.S. government has given ByteDance until January 19th to either sell its U.S. assets or face a U.S. ban. U.S. officials have expressed concerns that TikTok would allow China to gather data on Americans or manipulate the content they see, while those opposing the ban say it would infringe on Americans’ right to free expression.

With the January 19th date fast approaching, Bloomberg‘s report explored ByteDance’s various options, and that supposedly includes divesting its U.S. business to Musk. However, a TikTok representative simply said Bloomberg‘s report is “pure fiction” in a statement to Variety.

It should be noted that Bloomberg merely stated this was just one option that Chinese officials were considering, and the publication even conceded that it’s not clear whether talks had even been held between ByteDance and Musk. That said, Bloomberg noted how such a venture could benefit both parties.

For ByteDance, it both staves off the U.S. ban while giving the company a closer connection to President-elect Donald Trump, given that he’s worked closely with Musk and even tapped him to co-lead a new advisory commission called the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). Meanwhile, Chinese officials reportedly floated the idea of Musk’s X platform being run alongside TikTok U.S. to bolster both businesses. TikTok has more than 170 million users in America alone, which could help X attract advertisers. And finally, Bloomberg notes that Musk’s artificial intelligence company, xAI, would have access to even more data through a TikTok U.S. ownership.

Of course, there are also concerns about Musk — the world’s richest man and owner of many big companies, including X — attaining even greater power. Some already expect his close relationship to Trump will expand upon the billions of dollars in government contracts that Musk’s companies, which include Tesla and SpaceX, already receive. This would come after years of investigations into his businesses from the Securities and Exchange Committee (SEC).

Ultimately, we’ll have to wait until next week to know definitively about all of this. It should be noted that Trump, who takes office on January 20th, has previously said he wants to “save” TikTok in the U.S., so it’s unclear what, if anything, he may do upon resuming power. It also remains to be seen what impact a potential TikTok ban may have on an international level. In Canada, the company has been ordered to shut down its Canadian offices, a decision it’s challenging in federal court.

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Source: Bloomberg, Variety