United States President Donald Trump expressed openness on Tuesday to the possibility of billionaire Elon Musk acquiring the social media app TikTok, should the Tesla CEO wish to do so.
This follows heightened concerns over national security, with U.S. lawmakers pressuring TikTok’s Chinese parent company, ByteDance, to sell the app or face a potential ban. TikTok, which boasts 170 million American users, was temporarily taken offline just before the enforcement of a law requiring its divestment or ban took effect on Sunday.
Trump’s remarks come after Bloomberg News reported last week that Chinese officials were in early discussions about selling TikTok’s U.S. operations to Musk, although the company has denied these claims.
The U.S. government has cited risks regarding the misuse of American user data under ByteDance’s ownership. In response, Trump signed an executive order on Monday that delayedthe enforcement of the law by 75 days.
“I would be, if he wanted to buy it,” Trump told reporters when asked about Musk’s potential acquisition of TikTok. Trump also suggested the possibility of Musk giving “half to the United States of America” if the sale goes through.
Musk, who is also the owner of social media platform X, has criticized the U.S.-China business imbalance. He has expressed opposition to the TikTok ban, citing concerns over freedom of speech, while acknowledging the asymmetry in the treatment of U.S. and Chinese social media platforms.
As TikTok remains unavailable for download in the U.S. as of Tuesday, Musk’s potential involvement in the app’s future continues to be a key topic of debate.
