US President Donald Trump says he is open to the possibility of Elon Musk, owner of Tesla and microblogging platform X, purchasing TikTok.
TikTok was recently shut down in the United States following a federal ban over national security concerns tied to its Chinese ownership.
The ban, which took effect on Sunday, temporarily forced TikTok offline, leaving over 170 million US users without access to the platform.
It also led to the app being removed from Apple and Google’s digital stores in compliance with federal regulations.
On his first day in office, Trump signed an executive order delaying the enforcement of the ban by 75 days, allowing TikTok to resume operations.
Addressing reporters after signing the order, Trump stated that the US should receive 50 percent of any proceeds from the potential sale of TikTok in a joint venture proposition.
“I have met with the owners of TikTok, the big owners. So, what I am thinking about saying to somebody is ‘buy it and give half to the United States of America,’” Trump said.
He further warned China against interfering in the sale, labelling any obstruction as “hostile” and threatening tariffs of up to 100 percent.
Asked by a reporter during a press briefing about whether he was open to Musk buying the platform, the president answered in the affirmative, while also mentioning Larry Ellison, Oracle’s co-founder, as a potential buyer.
“I would be, if he (Musk) wanted to buy it. I’d like Larry to buy it, too,” Trump said.
“I have the right to make a deal. The deal I think is this. TikTok is worthless if it doesn’t get a US permit. With a permit it’s worth like a trillion dollars.
“So what I’m thinking about saying to somebody is ‘buy it and give half to the United States of America and we’ll give you a permit and you’ll have a great partner in the United States and they’ll have something that is more valuable because they have the ultimate partner in the United States.”
ByteDance, TikTok’s parent company, has not commented on whether it plans to sell the platform’s US operations.
However, Bloomberg has reported that Chinese officials may be considering a sale to Musk as a possible resolution of the impasse.
In November, Trump appointed Musk to head the Department Of Government Efficiency (DOGE) in his administration.
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