Han Zheng, Chinese President Xi Jinping’s envoy at Trump’s Inauguration, discussed fentanyl, trade, and technology with Vance and Musk.

If it were possible to short a public figure with maximum leverage, Elon Musk would surely be the top target. The political and enterprise value of “Musk Inc” is built on treacherous ideological sands.

President Trump indicated that he would be open to Tesla CEO Elon Musk or Oracle CEO Larry Ellison buying TikTok.

I met with the owners of Tiktok, the big owners, it’s worthless if it doesn’t get a permit,” Trump said. “It’s worth like a trillion dollars.”

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.

Chinese leader Xi Jinping sent Vice President Han Zheng to the inauguration, an official whose seniority signals Beijing is ready to engage. After arriving in the U.S., Han wasted no time in doing just that.

US President Donald Trump has stated that he is open to the idea of Elon Musk or Larry Ellison buying up TikTok.

US President Donald Trump on Tuesday said he would be supportive of the world's richest man and his close aide, Elon Musk, buying TikTok "if he wanted to". Trump was asked if he would be open to the billionaire founder of Tesla buying the short-video platform facing a nationwide ban in the US after the Supreme Court last week upheld a law requiring TikTok to sever ties with its Chinese parent ByteDance.

Trump advisor Elon Musk has longstanding business ties in China.

Joe' host Joe Scarborough expressed on Thursday's show that he has "always been horrified" by the Chinese-owned app TikTok and said Elon Musk should not be the person to take over American operations for the social platform.

Elon Musk has objected to a lack of reciprocity in the US-China tech relationship, a rare criticism from the billionaire on issues sensitive to Beijing after US president-elect Donald Trump prepared to offer a reprieve to TikTok on a ban in the US.