ByteDance, TikTok’s parent company, is required to sell the app to a U.S.-based buyer or face a nationwide ban.

After years of rejecting the idea of a sale of TikTok’s US assets to an American buyer in order to avert a ban, China and ByteDance may have found an owner they could live with: Elon Musk.

As the Jan. 19 date for a TikTok ban approaches, another name is emerging as a potential buyer: SpaceX and Tesla CEO Elon Musk, who already owns X.

US President Donald Trump on Tuesday said he would be supportive of the world's richest man and his close aide, Elon Musk, buying TikTok "if he wanted to". Trump was asked if he would be open to the billionaire founder of Tesla buying the short-video platform facing a nationwide ban in the US after the Supreme Court last week upheld a law requiring TikTok to sever ties with its Chinese parent ByteDance.

I met with the owners of Tiktok, the big owners, it’s worthless if it doesn’t get a permit,” Trump said. “It’s worth like a trillion dollars.”

At a press briefing on Tuesday, President Trump suggested that he’s open to the idea of Elon Musk or Larry Ellison buying TikTok.

President Trump indicated that he would be open to Tesla CEO Elon Musk or Oracle CEO Larry Ellison buying TikTok.

President Donald Trump said Tuesday that he would be in favor of Elon Musk or Larry Ellison purchasing TikTok and giving half ownership with the U.S. government.

President Donald Trump has announced that he's open to billionaire ally Elon Musk buying TikTok. Follow Newsweek's live blog for updates.

The president said he’s also open to another tech giant to acquire TikTok: Larry Ellison, co-founder of Oracle. Ellison was present at the White House for a $500 billion AI infrastructure partnership between the Trump administration and OpenAI, Softbank and Oracle. Oracle, a software company, houses most of TikTok's servers

Tuesday marks Donald Trump's first full day in office. Keep up with the USA TODAY Network's live coverage on his top priorities for Americans.