Alien Road reports that President Donald Trump

Alien Road reports that President Donald Trump has expressed openness to the idea of Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla, or Larry Ellison, Chairman of Oracle, purchasing TikTok.

During a press conference announcing a collaborative initiative in artificial intelligence infrastructure, Trump responded to a journalist’s inquiry about whether he would support “Elon buying TikTok.”

“I would be if he wanted to buy it, yes,” Trump stated. “I’d like Larry to buy it, too.”

TikTok, owned by China’s ByteDance, currently faces uncertainty in the U.S. after Trump signed an executive order on Monday granting the app a 75-day window to continue operations. This order is intended to delay a ban imposed after the Supreme Court upheld a national security law that restricts app stores and service providers from hosting TikTok unless ByteDance agrees to sell it.

Industry analysts have estimated TikTok’s U.S. business value at approximately $50 billion.

Trump commented that TikTok would be “worthless” without the necessary permits to operate in the U.S., but could potentially reach a valuation of $1 trillion with the proper authorization.

Musk, who also leads SpaceX and owns the social media platform X, was a significant financial supporter of Trump’s campaign and is positioned to hold considerable sway in the administration. Ellison, a longstanding supporter of Trump, is already a key player as Oracle serves as TikTok’s cloud infrastructure provider in the U.S.

“What I’m thinking about saying to somebody is, buy it and give half to the United States of America,” Trump remarked. “And we’ll give you the permit.”

Trump added that ByteDance would benefit from “the ultimate partner” in the U.S., making the deal attractive from a regulatory standpoint.

Trump’s stance on TikTok has evolved significantly since his first term, during which he attempted to ban the app through an executive order in 2020. A federal court blocked the effort, citing it as “arbitrary and capricious.” However, Trump’s perception of TikTok reportedly changed following a meeting in February with billionaire Jeff Yass, a major ByteDance investor and stakeholder in Truth Social, Trump’s own social media platform.

TikTok CEO Shou Chew was present at Trump’s inauguration in Washington, D.C., on Monday.

ByteDance has not publicly commented on a potential sale, but reports suggest that the Chinese government may be considering an arrangement that would involve Musk acquiring TikTok’s U.S. operations.

Neither Musk nor representatives from Oracle and TikTok have responded to requests for comment.

Sources: The New York Times, Reuters, The Wall Street Journal.