In a surprising twist on the future of TikTok, President Donald Trump suggested on Tuesday that either Tesla CEO Elon Musk or Oracle Chairman Larry Ellison could be potential buyers of the popular app, which has faced growing scrutiny over national security concerns.
During a press briefing on a new $500 billion AI infrastructure project with Oracle, Softbank, and OpenAI, Trump was asked if he would support Musk buying TikTok. He responded affirmatively, saying, “I would be, if he wanted to buy it, yes,” and added “I’d like Larry to buy it, too,” CNBC reported
TikTok’s Valuation
Trump further remarked that TikTok would be “worthless” without the necessary permits to operate in the U.S., but suggested the app could be worth as much as $1 trillion with one. Analysts currently value TikTok’s U.S. business at about $50 billion.
“I have met with owners of TikTok, the big owners,” Trump stated. “What I’m thinking about saying to somebody is, buy it and give half to the United States of America,” Trump said. “And we’ll give you the permit.'”
Future Of TikTok In U.S
Owned by China’s ByteDance, TikTok is in a state of uncertainty in the U.S. following Trump’s executive order on Monday. The order extends TikTok’s ability to operate in the country for an additional 75 days, temporarily suspending a ban that was set to take effect after a Supreme Court ruling last week.
The ruling upheld a national security law that could penalize app stores and service providers hosting TikTok unless ByteDance agrees to sell it. The law was enacted after U.S. officials raised concerns that the company could misuse Americans’ data.
The company has denied claims of being controlled by the Chinese government, stating that its content moderation and user data are managed in the U.S., with data stored on cloud servers operated by the American company, Oracle.
TikTok, which has 170 million American users, was briefly taken offline in the U.S. on Sunday, though its services were later restored. However, as of Tuesday, TikTok remained unavailable for download on both Apple and Android devices in the U.S.
Free speech advocates have voiced concerns about the potential ban of the app under a law passed by Congress and signed by former President Joe Biden.
Musk’s Role And Connections To China
Musk, who owns social media platform X, has been floated as a potential buyer due to his strong business ties with China. But, Musk has always pointed to the “unbalanced” nature of the U.S.-China business relationship.
“I have been against a TikTok ban for a long time, because it goes against freedom of speech. That said, the current situation where TikTok is allowed to operate in America, but X is not allowed to operate in China is unbalanced,” Musk said over the weekend, Reuters reported.
ByteDance has not confirmed whether it intends to sell TikTok, but reports suggest that Chinese officials discussed the possibility of selling TikTok’s U.S. operations to Musk, which would help ease tensions with U.S. regulators. However, the company has denied such talks took place.
Musk, a vocal supporter of Trump, contributed $250 million to the president’s 2024 campaign.
Meanwhile, TikTok CEO Shou Chew attended Trump’s inauguration on Monday.
