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.

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

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.

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.

Buying TikTok would further solidify Musk's position as one of the most powerful men in the U.S. and the world.

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

Canadian TikTok users say the app is down for them too, as the U.S. ban takes effect, with dozens of annoyed Canadian users flocking to social media to vent their frustrations.

The fate of 170 million TikTok users is now in the hands of President-elect Donald Trump.On Friday, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld the law requiring TikTok to be sold to a U.S. company or banned by Sunday,

President-elect Donald Trump has yet to take office, but his influence already is rippling through state capitols.

The US has grounded SpaceX's Starship rocket while an investigation is carried out into why one exploded during its latest test flight