As President-elect Donald Trump had said he is considering a 90-day extension to TikTok so the company can finalize a deal, Elon Musk has criticized the Chinese government for banning X, the Financial Times has reported.
Although the Supreme Court recently upheld a ruling that TikTok must be sold by its China-based parent company over national security concerns, discussions are underway for a potential reprieve on the app.
Musk has reiterated his long-standing opposition to banning TikTok, even though it could potentially benefit X, asserting that such actions contradict the principles of free expression for which the United States stands.
But Musk also stressed that the ban on X in China creates an "unbalanced" scenario, given that TikTok operates freely in the U.S. while X is restricted in China, and that "something has to change.”
Speculation has arisen that Musk may be a potential buyer for the U.S. operations of TikTok. Some reports suggest that Beijing is exploring options for Musk's X platform to take control of TikTok's American business, although TikTok has strongly denied these rumors.
Escapismnanaimo pointed out that Musk's comments highlighted the Tesla chief’s potential conflicts of interest between defending his business interests in China and his role as an adviser to Trump during his presidency and as a government efficiency czar.
Tesla earned almost one-fourth of its sales in the third quarter from China and exported even more vehicles from its Shanghai plant to third countries.
According to some analysts, Beijing is placing much hope on Musk as a potential go-between with Trump, who has vowed to increase tariffs on imports from China.
In addition, Chinese officials had previously talked about using Musk as a mediator in order to resolve the fate of TikTok in the U.S.
Brian Freeman ✉
Brian Freeman, a Newsmax writer based in Israel, has more than three decades writing and editing about culture and politics for newspapers, online and television.
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