President Donald Trump apparently has no qualms about turning the fate of TikTok into a public bidding war.
When prompted by specific questions from reporters, the new president has tossed out some of the biggest names in the tech world as possible buyers of TikTok’s US operations — a deal that would allow the platform to get around a ban imposed by Congress in the name of national security.
Among the names floated so far by Trump are Elon Musk, owner of X; Larry Ellison, chairman of Oracle (ORCL); and Microsoft (MSFT). It’s not yet clear if any are involved in actual discussions.
“I like bidding wars because you make your best deals,” Trump said Monday as he spoke to reporters aboard Air Force One.
Trump said he wants a deal done in 30 days. An executive order he signed on his first day in office actually gives TikTok’s Chinese parent company, ByteDance, until April 4 to figure something out.
Here is a closer look at the big names mentioned by Trump — and others who have also gone public with their bids:
Microsoft, along with Walmart (WMT), made a failed bid for TikTok during Trump’s first term when Trump actually tried to ban the app.
When asked Monday if Microsoft was among the companies interested this time around in an ownership stake, Trump answered in the affirmative: “I would say yes.”
It is not yet known whether Microsoft is actually involved in any talks.
Microsoft’s prior bid in 2020 didn’t go anywhere.
Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella later said after those discussions fell apart that the federal government had a “particular set of requirements and then it just disappeared.”
He called it the “strangest thing I’ve ever worked on.”
The Chinese government will certainly have a say in whatever happens. And government officials in that country, according to reports by Bloomberg and The Wall Street Journal, have discussed selling the social media app’s US business to Musk.
Trump sounded intrigued by the idea when asked about it publicly.
“I would be if he wanted to buy it,” Trump said of Musk, the owner of X, when a reporter at the White House wanted to know if he was in favor of such a deal.
But Musk has not spoken on the subject yet, except to say on X, “I have been against a TikTok ban for a long time, because it goes against freedom of speech. That said, the current situation where TikTok is allowed to operate in America, but X is not allowed to operate in China is unbalanced. Something needs to change.”
Antitrust experts predict that Musk could clear US legal hurdles imposed by a TikTok acquisition, which some estimate could amount to $40 billion-$50 billion. One reason is TikTok and X have distinct users.
Another factor in his favor is that Musk has a close relationship with the incoming president, having spent more than $250 million supporting his reelection campaign and helping lead a government cost-cutting effort as part of a new Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).
He also runs an electric-vehicle company, Tesla (TSLA), that has a factory in China and sells a lot of its cars to that part of the world.
Trump has sent mixed signals about whether Ellison could play a role in the TikTok situation.
“I’d like Larry to buy it too,” the president said last week, with Ellison standing next to him at a press conference held to announce a new $500 billion artificial intelligence infrastructure commitment.
“Larry, let’s negotiate in front of the media,” Trump said, as SoftBank CEO Masa Son and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman also looked on.
“What I’m thinking about saying to somebody is, buy it, and give half to the United States of America. Half, and we’ll give you the permit. And they’ll have a great partner, the United States.”
“Sounds like a good deal to me, Mr. President,” Ellison said.
NPR later reported that the Trump administration was developing a plan that would move control of TikTok to Oracle, where Ellison is chair and chief technology officer, along with other outside investors.
In that scenario ByteDance would keep a minority stake in the company while Oracle would oversee the app’s algorithm and data collection. Oracle already acts as a service provider for TikTok, storing its videos and other content in data centers.
But Trump denied talks with Oracle when asked about the subject Sunday.
“No, not with Oracle. Numerous people are talking to me, very substantial people, about buying it and I will make that decision probably over the next 30 days.”
He also denied any actual discussions with Ellison, saying “I never spoke to Larry about TikTok.”
Another bidder in the mix not yet been mentioned by Trump is Perplexity AI, an artificial intelligence startup backed by some big tech names: Amazon (AMZN) founder Jeff Bezos, Nvidia (NVDA) and other venture capitalists.
The AP reported this past weekend that Perplexity AI submitted a proposal to ByteDance that would merge Perplexity with TikTok’s US business and then give half ownership in that new company to the US government following an initial public offering.
The AP also reported that TikTok’s US business would be merged with Perplexity AI without the platform’s proprietary algorithm, and the existing investors in ByteDance would receive equity in the new entity.
One ByteDance board member, General Atlantic CEO Bill Ford, told Axios last week during the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, that there could be a solution for TikTok that does not require a full divesture from ByteDance.
General Atlantic, Kohlberg Kravis Roberts (KKR), Sequoia Capital, and Susquehanna International Group are among the existing US investors in TikTok’s parent company.
Former US Treasury secretary Steven Mnuchin, who acknowledged last year he was assembling a team of investors to buy TikTok, said last weekend on Fox News’s “Sunday Morning Futures” that a new investor would “dilute down” Chinese ownership of TikTok.
“I’d be very interested in participating,” he said.
Another billionaire interested in a potential TikTok deal is Frank McCourt, the founder of the internet advocacy group Project Liberty and former owner of the LA Dodgers.
“There’s a deal to be made here so that US TikTok can stay in business,” McCourt has told Yahoo Finance’s Opening Bid podcast. “We want to see the platform stay in business and the 170 million [US users] enjoy it.”
His group includes “Shark Tank” star Kevin O’Leary, who has told Yahoo Finance that he, McCourt and a consortium of business professionals are willing to pay up to $20 billion for TikTok, calling it a “legacy opportunity.”
The famed investor told Yahoo Finance that the group’s proposal excludes the platform’s algorithm.
McCourt told Reuters last week at Davos that he is open to teaming up with other investors. O’Leary is also still interested, he told CNBC, but the law banning TikTok that went into effect Jan. 19 makes things more difficult.
“I would love to do a deal, if the law provided for it, but I don’t have the luxury of breaching the order of Congress,” he said to CNBC.
One other group of investors has publicly announced its interest in buying TikTok, and it claims to have an internet celebrity in its corner.
It includes Jesse Tinsley, founder and CEO of Employer.com. The web celebrity is Jimmy Donaldson, the popular YouTuber better known as “MrBeast.”
The group submitted an all-cash bid, according to a release from Paul Hastings LLP, which said it is representing the investors.
The Paul Hastings team includes Brad Bondi, brother of Pam Bondi, Trump’s pick to be attorney general of the US.
Tinsley said on X that “our goal is to ensure TikTok stays accessible, thriving, and aligned with the values that make America great,” he wrote.
His group, he added, is “ready to structure the deal in whatever way President Trump and our government wish.”
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