The clock is ticking for TikTok: Is Elon Musk buying the next social media app now?

Beijing -The last hour of the social media platform TikTok in the USA is soon to have struck. But tech billionaire Elon Musk (53) may be the savior of short videos.

TikTok is one of the largest social media platforms in the world, but is on the verge of going out of business in the USA.
TikTok is one of the largest social media platforms in the world, but is on the verge of going out of business in the USA.  © Robert Michael/dpa

According to a report in the US newspaper"Bloomberg", a nationwide ban on the social media platform TikTok could come into force next Sunday.

This was already imposed in April last year by former President Joe Biden (82).

Unlike other social media platforms such as Facebook or Instagram, TikTok does not come from the USA, but from China. This is also the reason why the US government sees the popular app as a thorn in its side.

It accuses the Chinese company of spying on the data of US users and possibly using it as leverage in upcoming political negotiations.

The Chinese government would also have the opportunity to influence the public perception of the population in the USA through TikTok.

Zhang Yiming (41, right) founded the company ByteDance Ltd. and its subsidiary TikTok.
Zhang Yiming (41, right) founded the company ByteDance Ltd. and its subsidiary TikTok.  © Uncredited/CHINATOPIX/AP/dpa

According to a ruling by the US Supreme Court, the Chinese parent company ByteDance Ltd. must sell its subsidiary TikTok to the US by January 19. If this does not happen, the app would be blocked for all users nationwide.

Such a block would have drastic consequences for the short video platform, as an estimated 170 million Americans use TikTok. However, those responsible at ByteDance Ltd. are opposing the sale of their gem and are taking legal action against the new US law.

They claim that such a ban is a violation of the Freedom of Speech Act.

Elon Musk could use his connections and buy TikTok

Elon Musk (53) could make good use of the algorithm behind TikTok for his own AI.
Elon Musk (53) could make good use of the algorithm behind TikTok for his own AI.  © Allison Robbert/AFP Pool via AP/dpa

But now tech billionaire Elon Musk could be the savior of the social media platform. According to a report, negotiations are underway between him and the Chinese company.

Musk is a respected business partner of the Chinese. In 2019, the 53-year-old founded a huge factory for his Tesla cars near the Chinese city of Shanghai.

This production facility not only helped Musk to establish himself on the highly competitive Chinese automotive market, but also to ease the previously very tense political relations between the USA and China.

Such a deal would also be very worthwhile for Musk. He could also apply the algorithm behind TikTok to his own social media platform X and thus attract more advertising customers, for example.

In addition, the new artificial intelligence "xAI" created by Musk would also benefit enormously from the amount of data generated by the millions of users.

TikTok has a price tag of 40 to 50 billion dollars

The price for the social media platform would amount to an estimated 40 to 50 billion dollars. According to "Bloomberg", an alternative to the sale would be a kind of rebranding ("renaming"). TikTok could launch a new platform for the US market in order to possibly circumvent this ban.

However, it is still unclear to what extent such a method would be worthwhile and how the Chinese company would decide.