Trump open to Elon Musk purchase of TikTok

• Published On: 22 January 2025 at 17:14

On Tuesday, US President Donald Trump expressed openness to billionaire Elon Musk acquiring the social media app TikTok, if the Tesla CEO so desired.

This comes after increased concerns about national security, with US lawmakers pressuring TikTok's Chinese parent company, ByteDance, to sell the app or face a ban. TikTok, which has 170 million American users, was temporarily taken offline just before a law requiring its divestment or ban was implemented on Sunday.

Trump's comments follow Bloomberg News' report last week that Chinese officials were in early talks with Musk about selling TikTok's U.S. operations, which the company has denied.

The US government has raised concerns about the potential misuse of American user data under ByteDance's ownership. In response, Trump signed an executive order on Monday delaying the law's enforcement by 75 days.

"I would be, if he wanted to buy it," Trump told reporters when asked about Musk's potential TikTok acquisition. Trump also mentioned the possibility of Musk giving "half to the United States of America" if the sale is completed.

Musk, who also owns the social media platform X, has criticised the U.S.-China trade imbalance. He has spoken out against the TikTok ban, citing concerns about free speech, while acknowledging the asymmetry in the treatment of US and Chinese social media platforms.

As of Tuesday, TikTok was still unavailable for download in the United States, and Musk's potential involvement in the app's future remains a hotly debated topic.