Trump wishes to ‘conserve’ TikTok. One rescuer can beElon Musk

President- choose Donald Trump has actually stated he wishes to “save” TikTok. One feasible rescuer can be Elon Musk.

Chinese federal government authorities, according to records by Bloomberg and The Wall Street Journal, have actually gone over offering the social media sites application’s United States organization to the proprietor of X, previously calledTwitter TikTok’s moms and dad firm, ByteDan ce, is Chinese.

The authorities would certainly choose to maintain TikTok under ByteDan ce possession, according to the media records, however have actually gone over the sale to Musk as amongst their backup intends if the Supreme Court promotes a United States regulation that outlaws the system onJan 19 unless it is offered to a proprietor not regulated by an international opponent.

Trump, that on the project path recommended in a social media sites blog post that he would certainly “save TikTok,” has actually asked the Supreme Court to put on hold the divestment target date and consider his choice for a “negotiated resolution”– considered that, as head of state, he will certainly be in charge of nationwide protection. Trump takes workplace onJan 20.

Antitrust professionals forecast that Musk can get rid of United States lawful difficulties enforced by a TikTok procurement, which some quote can total up to $40-50 billion. One factor is TikTok and X have distinctive customers.

“They are both broadly in the social media space, but the different user bases and content means that they are not really competitors,” David Olson, an antitrust law professor for Boston College Law School, told Yahoo Finance.

TikTok is primarily a platform for sharing short, creative videos with a heavy emphasis on visual entertainment and trending challenges, said Case Western University Reserve Law School professor Anat Alon-Beck. X is focused on text-based posts for quick updates as well as news sharing.

“There are distinctions in between TikTok and [X],” Alon-Beck said.

Musk has a close relationship with the incoming president, having spent more than $250 million supporting his re-election campaign and helping lead a government cost-cutting effort as part of a new Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).

Musk paid $22 billion for X in 2022 and also runs a number of other companies, including electric-vehicle maker Tesla (TSLA), SpaceX, Neuralink, the Boring Co. and artificial-intelligence startup X.AI.

Tesla has a factory in China and sells a lot of its cars to that part of the world.

Musk posted on X in April that “In my point of view, TikTok must not be outlawed in the United States, although such a restriction might profit the X system.”

“Doing so would certainly contrast free speech and expression. It is not what America means.”

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Bloomberg and The Wall Street Journal both reported there are a number of unknowns surrounding any possible deal with Musk, including whether he would have to sell any other of his holdings, whether US regulators would approve and what sort of influence officials in Beijing would have in suggesting ByteDance sell to a particular buyer.

A TikTok spokesperson responded to the Bloomberg report by saying “we cannot be expected to comment on pure fiction.”

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yf-1pe5jgt”>TikTok has 170 million US users. (Photo Illustration by Mateusz Slodkowski/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images) “>· SOPA Images via Getty Images

Alon-Beck of Case Western University said a TikTok-X transaction could look similar to Meta’s (META) 2012 acquisition of Instagram, which the FTC originally approved after a review, then later sued the company to undo it.

Even if Musk were to acquire TikTok’s coveted algorithm and artificial intelligence capabilities, which the company has said it would not sell, Musk could still clear regulatory hurdles.

“So far he is just one of many players – and not the largest,” Olson said.

Dan Ives of Wedbush Securities said in a note that ” yf-1pe5jgt Twitter yf-1pe5jgtMusk yf-1pe5jgt(* )this would substantially improve the worth of “

“It’s would certainly take outdoors financial investments for this prospective gold property pick-up.Musk yf-1pe5jgt” the analyst added.

Legal experts said Musk could also be politically insulated from antitrust scrutiny because Trump’s incoming Justice Department and Federal Trade Commission could lack motivation to investigate such a transaction.

“Given his proximity to President-elect Trump, I do not think that the DOJ or FTC under the Trump administration is likely to pursue an antitrust case against the merger,” Olson said.

Musk may not be the only party involved if any sale negotiations do in fact take place.

Investor and “Shark Tank” star Kevin O’Leary told Yahoo Finance last week that he and a consortium of business professionals led by billionaire Frank McCourt Jr. 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 — which excludes the platform’s algorithm — represents a compelling deal.

yf-1pe5jgt”>The scene outside the Supreme Court on Friday as justices heard oral arguments in a bid by TikTok and its China-based parent company, ByteDance, to block a law intended to force the sale of the short-video app by Jan. 19 or face a ban on national security grounds. REUTERS/Marko Djurica ” data-svelte-h=”

McCourt, the founder of internet advocacy group Project Liberty and former owner of the LA Dodgers, also recently expressed optimism about a potential deal on Yahoo Finance’s Opening Bid podcast.

US Solicitor General Elizabeth Prelogar, who last week argued on behalf of the government’s TikTok’s divestment law before the Supreme Court, told the justices it was not clear whether Trump could extend the Jan. 19 divestment deadline when he becomes president. But he could decline to enforce the law after he takes office.

TikTok lawyer Noel Francisco told the justices that, “[It] is possible that come January 20, 21st, 22nd we might be in a different world. Again, that’s one of the reasons why I think it makes perfect sense to issue a preliminary injunction here and simply buy everybody a little breathing space.”

yf-1pe5jgt”>Click here for in-depth analysis of the latest stock market news and events moving stock prices

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