Elon Musk and his close relationship with President-elect Donald Trump are seen as helpful to TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew, who has reached out to the Tesla chief, according to the Wall Street Journal.
The two have known each other for several years. So despite owning rival social media platform X, Musk was asked for his opinions on an array of issues, including the incoming Trump administration and potential tech policy, after Chew initiated messages in recent weeks, the report said.
While a Jan. 19 deadline looms for parent company ByteDance to sell TikTok or face a U.S. ban, Musk and Chew didn’t discuss specific options for TikTok to keep operating here, sources told the Journal.
Still, Chew has been updating ByteDance executives on the discussions, and they are cautiously optimistic about their U.S. prospects, the report added.
Representatives for TikTok and Tesla didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment.
After contributing more than $100 million to help elect Trump and stumping on the campaign trail for him, Musk has emerged as an influential figure during the transition.
He has been on calls between Trump and foreign leaders, regularly appeared at Mar-a-Lago, and attended a UFC fight with the president-elect last weekend. Trump has reciprocated and attended a SpaceX rocket launch this past week.
Seemingly inseparable, Musk has been called “first buddy” to Trump, a moniker that the tech billionaire happily embraced.
The lines of communication between Musk and Chew could be critical as ByteDance navigates the next few months. A bill that Congress passed and President Joe Biden signed into law in April requires the Chinese company to divest TikTok or be banned. It goes into effect on Jan. 19, the day before Trump’s inauguration.
While Trump tried to ban TikTok during his first term, he opposed the law that was signed this year. And sources told the Washington Post this month that Trump will try to block a U.S. ban, fulfilling a campaign pledge.
For now, he hasn’t offered any specifics on how he would do that. To fully reverse the law, Congress would have to pass another bill that Trump then signs.
But experts told ABC News that Trump could also order his Justice Department to not enforce the law currently on the books, instead of passing a new law.
He could also help craft a deal that puts TikTok in the hands of a U.S. buyer, though ByteDance has signaled opposition to that. The current law includes a provision for a 90-day extension of the deadline if ByteDance is heading toward an agreement to sell TikTok.
For his part, Chew said in April: “We aren’t going anywhere,” and TikTok has sued, claiming the law violates free-speech rights. A federal appeals court could render a decision next month.
