Trump is open to Elon Musk or Larry Ellison buying TikTok.
President Trump made a major infrastructure announcement on his second day in office.
President Donald Trump On Tuesday, he reiterated the idea that the United States should own half of TikTok, saying he would support X owner Elon Musk or Oracle founder Larry Ellison buying the China-linked social media app.
On his first day in office on Monday, Trump gave TikTok more time to develop and order ByteDance, the platform’s Beijing owner, to comply with a law requiring it to transfer the app to an American buyer or shut the platform down. Down in the US
Elon Musk talks to President Donald Trump. (Photo by Brandon Bell/Getty Images/Getty Images)
During a press conference announcing the massive Stargate AI infrastructure project involving Oracle, OpenAI and Softbank, Trump was asked whether Musk would be open to his close friend buying TikTok.
“If he wanted to buy it, I would,” replied the president, adding, “I’d be happy if Larry bought it, too,” with a nod to Ellison, who was present.
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Trump met with the current owners of TikTok and told reporters: “I have the right to make a deal.” So the deal I’m thinking of…” He then turned to Ellison and said, “Larry, let’s talk.” In front of the media.”
Oracle founder Larry Ellison, right, listens to President Donald Trump’s speech in the Roosevelt Room of the White House, Jan. 21, 2025, in Washington, DC. (Jim Watson/AFP via Getty Images/Getty Images)
He said the deal the president is thinking about would involve someone buying TikTok and giving half of it to the United States of America, and we’ll give you the license, and they’ll have a good partner.
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After explaining the deal, Trump turned to Ellison and said, “Sounds reasonable. What do you think?”
Ellison replied, “Sounds like a good deal to me, Mr. President.” Trump returned to the newspaper and said of Ellison, “He can afford it.”
‘Shark Tank’ investor Kevin O’Leary talks about TikTok’s future, the role of the Chinese government in its ‘secret golden stake’ and Trump’s role in keeping the platform alive in the US.
Tik Tok shut down its US operations on Saturday, one day before the deadline to shut down under the law. But the platform returned to US jobs on Sunday after Trump confirmed he would sign an executive order extending the deadline to reach a deal that would protect US national security.
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“By doing this, we will save TikTok, put it in good hands and let it stay. There is no TikTok without US permission. With our permission, it could be worth hundreds of billions of dollars – maybe trillions,” he wrote in a social media post on Sunday. “Therefore, my initial thought is a joint venture between existing owners and/or new owners whereby the United States would acquire 50% ownership in the joint venture between the US and any acquisition we choose.”
Fox Business’ Danielle Wallace contributed to this report.