TikTok CEO Chew Shou Zi reportedly sought advice from Tesla CEO Elon Musk. According to an exclusive report in WSJ, ByteDance-owned TikTok chief executive officer Chew Shou Zi has sought input on US matters from Elon Musk. Tesla CEO has emerged as one of the closest advisers to President-elect Donald Trump.
The Wall Street Journal reported on November 23, citing people familiar with the matter.
TikTok CEO Chew is reported to have reached out to Tesla CEO in recent weeks and asked for his opinions on topics ranging from the incoming administration to potential tech policy, the report added as per news agency Reuters.
The report added that both the executives have not discussed specific measures to keep TikTok running in the United States. ByteDance’s senior leadership remains cautiously optimistic. Before the US election, ByteDance executives met with people close to both Trump and Democratic nominee Kamala Harris.
Elon Musk joined Trump in calls with Google CEO and Ukraine president
Incidentally, there are also reports that Musk joined President-elect Donald Trump during his call with Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. And earlier this week, The Information reported that Musk was there in the call when Google CEO Sunadr Pichai called to congratulate Pichai.
The big Yes and No on Tiktok ban in the US
Trump, who previously attempted to ban TikTok, has stated that he would not allow the app to be barred if elected in November. However, President Trump’s pick for Federal Communications Commission chairman could be bad news for TikTok. In his Project 2025 chapter, Carr asserted that the Chinese social media platform TikTok “poses a serious and unacceptable risk to America’s national security” and should be banned.
The new FCC chairman also reportedly has a close relationship with Musk and has accused Democrats of waging “regulatory lawfare” against Musk’s Starlink satellite internet service.
