If Elon Musk wants to buy TikTok in US, he will have to pay a whopping ...

ByteDance faces pressure to sell TikTok's US operations amid security concerns. The Supreme Court will decide on a potential ban, while Trump may delay it by 90 days post-inauguration.

In Short

• Analyst Ives sees TikTok as a valuable asset for Musk.
• TikTok faces US pressure to sell due to security issues.
• Musk's ties with China may aid acquisition talks.

Elon Musk could be looking at a hefty price tag of $40-50 billion in case he decides to move forward with buying the US operations of TikTok, Forbes has reported quoting Wedbush analyst Dan Ives.

The range is close to the $44 billion Musk spent to acquire Twitter in 2022, which is now known as X.

However, the estimate far surpasses the $20 billion offer made last week by the US-led Project Liberty consortium.

Ives, who has tracked Musk's ventures closely, believes a deal for TikTok’s US arm would be a “golden asset pickup” for Musk and his social media company, X. He pointed to Musk’s strong ties with Chinese officials, which may play a role in facilitating such an acquisition. In his Tuesday note to clients, Ives noted that reports of Chinese officials considering allowing Musk to buy TikTok were “not a total shock” given Musk's connections, including his close relationship with President-elect Donald Trump.

TikTok’s parent company, ByteDance, is under intense pressure to sell its US operations to an American company or face a ban due to national security concerns regarding its Chinese ownership.

TikTok’s potential sale has been tied to discussions of a possible ban unless ByteDance divests TikTok’s US operations.

The US Supreme Court is expected to rule soon on whether the ban can proceed, but President Trump may have the power to delay the ban by 90 days after his inauguration.

A TikTok spokesperson dismissed the idea of a sale to Musk as "pure fiction" and Musk has yet to comment on the reports.

If the sale proceeds, it could impact a significant portion of TikTok's 150 million US users, with concerns that the Chinese government could force the company to turn over user data. A large percentage of Americans, around a third, use TikTok, a higher rate than the 21% of US users who engage with Musk’s own platform, X.

The US government’s move to potentially ban TikTok has sparked other bids for the app. One prominent bidder is billionaire Frank McCourt, former owner of the Los Angeles Dodgers, who is leading Project Liberty’s bid for TikTok’s US operations. Other US billionaires, including Jeff Yass, whose firm Susquehanna International Group owns a 15% stake in ByteDance, are also involved in the bidding.

Musk’s business ties with Beijing through Tesla, which generates 23% of its revenue from China, could give him an advantage in negotiations with Chinese officials. His strong relationship with China could help his case if he pursues the acquisition of TikTok.