Trump gives Elon Musk, Larry Ellison blessing as possible TikTok buyers

For roughly 24 hours, TikTok, one of the most popular social media/video-sharing platforms in the world, was banned after a law went into effect on Jan. 19 that forced the company to halt U.S operations unless it had been sold to an American entity.

According to Breitbart, Trump, who saved the platform after offering an extension for the company to figure out its next move, indicated that he would be fine with TikTok selling to Elon Musk or even Oracle chairman Larry Ellison. 

Several U.S. entities have expressed interest in purchasing the platform, though no deals have been set in stone.

Despite reported legal hurdles, Canadian investor Kevin “Mr. Wonderful” O’Leary is interested in buying the platform.

The news of Trump's approval of Musk or Ellison as buyers of the platform came during a press conference this week during which Trump announced a massive AI project called "Stargate."

The president was asked about his thoughts regarding Musk being interested in purchasing the platform.

"I would be if he wanted to buy it, yes," Trump told reporters, adding, "I’d like Larry to buy it, too."

Breitbart noted:

TikTok, currently owned by China’s ByteDance, finds itself in a precarious position in the United States following an executive order signed by Trump on Monday.

The order aims to keep TikTok operational in the U.S. for an additional 75 days, effectively suspending a ban that came into effect after the Supreme Court upheld a national security law that would penalize app stores and service providers for hosting TikTok unless ByteDance sold the app.

There are only a limited number of people and entities that could purchase the platform, given that analysts currently value TikTok at roughly $50 billion.

O'Leary, known widely for his role as an investor on TV's Shark Tank, is also in contention to buy, but there are a few legal hurdles that would somehow have to be overcome.

Breitbart noted:

O’Leary, along with “The People’s Bid for TikTok,” an effort led by Project Liberty Founder Frank McCourt, had offered ByteDance $20 billion in cash to buy the platform. However, he noted that the proposed deal did not include ByteDance’s TikTok algorithm, a key point of scrutiny from U.S. lawmakers, and that his group had its own alternative.

The Shark Tank star elaborated on the situation.

"That 50/50 deal, I would love to work with Trump on, so would every other potential buyer … But the problem with some of these ideas is they are inconsistent with the ruling of the Supreme Court," O'Leary said.

Only time will tell who, if anyone, will end up purchasing the app.