US President Donald Trump expressed openness to tech billionaires Elon Musk and Larry Ellison purchasing half of TikTok in a partnership with the US government. At a White House event, Trump mentioned that a private individual could buy TikTok and share half of it with the government to secure a permit for operating in the US. This comes after a US Supreme Court ruling upholding a TikTok ban, with ByteDance, TikTok’s parent company, refusing to sell the app despite growing pressure.
Trump also acknowledged TikTok’s role in his presidential campaign, stating it helped him win the “young vote.” While Musk and Ellison are his preferred buyers, other investors, including MrBeast and Jesse Tinsley, as well as Amazon, have also shown interest in acquiring the app.