Jan 22, 2025 11:08:00

President Trump suggests TikTok could be bought by Elon Musk or Larry Ellison and made into a joint venture with the US

U.S. President Donald Trump has revealed that he is considering a rescue measure for TikTok, whose service has been temporarily extended by executive order, in which he would be able to give permission for the company to continue operating as president if a wealthy person such as Tesla's Elon Musk or Oracle's Larry Ellison were to acquire the company and set up a joint venture with the United States.

Trump says he is open to Musk buying TikTok if Tesla CEO wants to do so | Reuters

https://www.reuters.com/technology/trump-says-he-is-open-musk-buying-tiktok-if-tesla-ceo-wants-do-so-2025-01-21/

Trump Open to Musk or Ellison Buying TikTok in Joint Venture With US - Bloomberg
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2025-01-21/trump-says-he-s-open-to-musk-or-ellison-purchasing-tiktok

Trump says he's open to TikTok sale to Elon Musk or Larry Ellison
https://www.cnbc.com/2025/01/21/trump-says-hes-open-to-tiktok-sale-to-elon-musk-or-larry-ellison-.html

Trump says he's open to Elon Musk buying TikTok and negotiates a deal with billionaire Larry Ellison in front of the press | Daily Mail Online
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-14310993/trump-tiktok-elon-musk.html

Donald Trump says he's open to Elon Musk buying TikTok 'if he wanted to' | South China Morning Post
https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/3295718/donald-trump-says-hes-open-elon-musk-buying-tiktok-if-he-wanted

At a press conference held on January 21, 2025 local time, President Trump was asked by a reporter, 'Is there a way that Elon Musk could buy TikTok?' He answered, 'If that's what he wants,' and continued, 'I want Larry to buy it too.'

Because TikTok's parent company is the Chinese company ByteDance,

it was forced to choose between selling its business in the United States or ceasing service on January 19, 2025 , as it was heavily affected by the 'Protecting Americans from National Security Threats Posed by Applications Controlled by Foreign Adversaries Act,' commonly known as the 'TikTok Ban Act,' which was signed into law by former President Joe Biden.

Despite last-minute attempts to avoid a ban, TikTok ended up temporarily suspending its service, while Apple and Google removed the app from their app stores.

TikTok, CapCut, Lemon8, MARVEL SNAP, etc. will be suspended in the United States as the 'TikTok Ban Law' comes into effect - GIGAZINE

However, the day before Trump took office, he declared that he would issue an executive order immediately after taking office to extend the deadline for the sale of TikTok and allow for an agreement to be reached to protect national security,

allowing TikTok to resume its service . Also, when he took office as president on January 20, he immediately signed an executive order to suspend the TikTok Ban Act for 75 days.

President Trump signs executive order to suspend TikTok ban for 75 days - GIGAZINE

Since President Trump only temporarily suspended the TikTok ban, TikTok is still required to choose between halting its service in the United States or selling its business.

At a press conference held under these circumstances, President Trump said, 'I'm thinking about someone buying TikTok and making half of it the United States of America. Then we can give TikTok a green light to continue operating.'

President Trump used to be against TikTok, but he has become quite favorable towards TikTok due to the large number of videos he posted on TikTok during the 2024 presidential election, and he even had dinner with TikTok CEO Chou Shouzi. Chou attended Trump's inauguration.

It is unclear whether President Trump's decision was made in consultation with those around him or whether it was purely his own opinion, and neither Musk, Ellison, nor CEO Chou have commented on the matter.