Exclusive: Lawyer explains why Elon Musk’s $50B TikTok purchase simply won’t happen

With TikTok’s US ban looming ever closer, potential buyers for the application are coming out of the woodwork — but legal experts say Elon Musk isn’t likely to be a contender.

TikTok will be banned in the United States unless its China-based parent company, ByteDance, sells off its shares of the app by January 19, 2025.

ByteDance has been obstinately against making a sale, and has attempted to postpone the ban on multiple occasions to no avail.

Several high-profile names have thrown their names into the hat to save TikTok from a ban on American soil, including Shark Tank’s Kevin O’Leary and even YouTube star MrBeast.

Elon Musk was also rumored to be in this mix… but his existing ownership of X could make this an unlikely purchase.

Legal expert casts major doubt on Elon Musk buying TikTok

We spoke with Neil Elan of Stubbs Alderton & Markiles, LLP, a business litigator who focuses on high-value intellectual property disputes, to get his opinion on TikTok’s possible sale to Musk and what this could mean for the digital ‘public square.’

According to Elan, the possibility of Musk buying TikTok is highly unlikely, largely due to the fact that this would mean two of the world’s largest social media platforms would be owned by him, therefore creating a kind of monopoly.

“There’s a lot to analyze in that, and I personally think that many would be up in arms if that were to happen,” Elan told us. “Two of the largest social media platforms owned by Elon Musk, which I don’t think at a common sense level would pass the antitrust test or monopoly test.”

Ultimately, Elan believes there are too many safeguards in place to prevent such a purchase from ever taking place — not to mention the public backlash it would likely receive.

“I think there would be many roadblocks imposed to prevent that from happening, so I’m not too bullish on that as of now,” he said.

ByteDance’s shares in TikTok are currently valued at around $300B, with analysts theorizing the company would look for a $40B to $50B payout in the event they sell – mere pocket change for Musk, who boasts a $400M net worth.

TikTok itself has replied to Elon’s rumored plans to buy the app, with a representative for the company saying it “can’t be expected to comment on pure fiction.”

Elon has not offered a public comment on the matter at the time of writing, but he has vocally opposed the app’s ban in America, saying it would be “contrary to freedom of speech and expression.”