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Trump's TikTok Deal: The Billionaire Backers · Elon Musk Podcast

• 0:01
  Hey everybody, welcome back to the Elon Musk Podcast.
• 0:05
  This is a show where we discuss the critical crossroads, The
• 0:08
  Shape, SpaceX, Tesla X, The Boring Company and Neurolink.
• 0:13
  I'm your host Will Walden. President Donald Trump is
• 0:17
  orchestrating a deal to transfer Tik Tok's US operations from
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  Chinese control to a consortium of American investors, with
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  several of his closest billionaire allies and major
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  tech firms poised to take majority control of the
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  platform. Now, the White House has
• 0:32
  confirmed Trump will sign an executive order on Thursday
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  finalizing the arrangement that keeps TikTok operational for its
• 0:41
  170 million American users. Now, this agreement creates a
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  new US joint venture where American investors will control
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  approximately 80% of social media Tik Toks US operations and
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  Bytedance, its parent company, retains less than 20% ownership
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  to comply with the 2024 law requiring divestment from
• 1:05
  Chinese control. Now, the new entity will be
• 1:08
  governed by a board of directors with six American seats in one
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  bike dance representative, with Oracle serving as the trusted
• 1:17
  security provider for all US user data.
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  Now we have to talk about the people that are involved with
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  this because this story is pretty wild.
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  Larry Ellison, this guy. Oracle's executive chairman
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  Larry Ellison stands as the central figure in the
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  acquisition, with Trump explicitly endorsing his
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  involvement from the beginning. Trump's good friend, billionaire
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  Larry Ellison buying a media company that will support Donald
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  Trump. Ellison he became the world's
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  richest person earlier this year over.
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  Elon Musk has been a long time trump friend and ally, and was
• 1:59
  reportedly involved in discussions about overturning
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  the 2020 election results. Oracle will continue its
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  existing role as Tik Tok's cloud service provider while gaining
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  an ownership stake in controlling the platform's
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  algorithm and security infrastructure.
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  Think about that. Somebody who has close ties with
• 2:20
  Donald Trump, very close ties in charge of exactly what you're
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  going to see on TikTok. They are controlling the
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  platform's algorithm and also the security infrastructure.
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  They're going to have all of your data, all of your TikTok
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  data. And some people might think,
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  whatever, it's not a big deal. It's just TikTok or silly
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  videos. And I watch cat videos on there
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  and I watch people do insane things, skateboarding and
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  snowboarding and people doing stunts and funny things.
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  They have all of your data. They they don't just have your
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  data for your login and the videos that you watch.
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  They have your exact location, your location, services.
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  If they're not turned off, they'll know exactly where you
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  are at all times. So it's an easy way for the US
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  government to spy on you through Larry Ellison.
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  I'm not tin foil hatting you. I'm just telling you that's what
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  could happen. We know.
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  And it doesn't matter what side you're on, if you're on the left
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  or if you're on the right. This is a really sketchy thing.
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  If the government's best buddy, the the president's best buddy,
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  Larry Ellison over here, his company has control over what
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  you see on your feed, guess what you're going to see?
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  Guess where they're going to lean?
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  Hopefully they only go straight down the middle and just give
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  you what you want. That would be great.
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  Instead of giving you things that maybe you're not into,
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  maybe they're going to slip some stuff in there for dissent.
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  I don't know. I don't know.
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  Think about it. I want to know what you think
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  about this stuff in the comments on whatever podcast platform
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  you're listening on right now. Also, Rupert Murdoch and
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  Lackland Murdoch are expected to participate in the deal too,
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  likely through Fox Corp rather than individual investors.
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  And we all know how Fox and Trump play well together.
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  Trump confirmed their involvement on Fox News, stating
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  that Rupert and his son are both involved, and Rupert is probably
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  going to be in the group as well.
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  Now the Murdoch's participation could strengthen Fox Corp's
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  digital media presence as traditional broadcasting faces
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  challenges. Think about this.
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  Another arm of Fox News in your feed.
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  Do you want that? Is it time for you to give up
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  TikTok now and move to another platform?
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  Would you move to YouTube Shorts?
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  What platform? Go back to Instagram?
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  I mean, it's up to you, whatever you want to do.
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  But we got Larry Ellison, huge Trump supporter.
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  We got Fox News with Rupert Murdoch and Lachlan Murdoch,
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  huge Trump supporters. They're in charge of the
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  algorithm. And if somebody from Fox News is
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  in charge of that there, of course they can go talk to Larry
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  Ellison and say, hey, Larry, I want some more Fox News stuff on
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  everybody's feed. How much do I got to pay you?
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  And of course, we have Michael Dell, founder of Dell
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  Technologies. He's been identified by Trump as
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  part of the investor consortium. Dell's involvement comes through
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  his connection to Silver Lake, which is a private equity firm
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  that has significant investments in Dell Technologies and is
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  serving as a major investor in the TikTok deal.
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  Now, there's also Anderson Horowitz.
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  A16Z represents Trump's most politically active supporters in
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  Silicon Valley. This is, it's just Trump's
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  buddies that are buying TikTok. Of course, I mean, any outside
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  investors, they probably wouldn't have them, right?
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  Anderson Horowitz, Mark Anderson and Ben Horowitz donated $2.5
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  million each to Trump's Super PAC during the 2024 election.
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  Anderson has spent significant time at Mar A Lago and was
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  tapped as an economic advisor to help recruit staff for Elon
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  Musk's Doge. All these people are in it
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  together. No word on Elon though.
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  When he already has X. He doesn't really need another
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  social media platform. It's already doing his thing
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  over there. Silver Lake was one of the
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  world's largest private equity firms, is confirmed as a major
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  investor in the consortium as well.
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  The firm has extensive experience with tech
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  investments, including previous acquisitions of Dell Computer
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  and also Skype. Remember that place?
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  I remember that chat rooms. There's video chat on Skype.
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  Pretty great place, pretty good app.
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  It's gone now. Now we have Microsoft Teams,
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  which is that's a whole other thing.
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  It's a whole episode on its own. Silver Lake's portfolio includes
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  companies like Peloton and Klarna positioning as a key
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  player in the tech investment space.
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  Now there are also current Byte Dance investors, Jeff Yes and
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  Susquehanna International Group. They own approximately 15% of
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  Byte Dance through his firm Susquehanna, making him one of
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  the biggest stakeholders right now.
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  And he donated $16,000,000 to Trump's MAGA Inc Super PAC in
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  2025, representing his largest political contributions ever,
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  General Atlantic led by Bill Ford.
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  It's a private equity firm and it holds a substantial stake in
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  Byte Dance and a board seat as well.
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  Firm is actively involved in negotiations to increase their
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  ownership in the new US entity KKR, which is Kohlberg, Kravis
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  and Roberts. It's a private equity giant,
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  holds approximately 1.7% of Byte Dance and is participating in
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  the restructuring to avoid capital gains taxes while
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  maintaining their investments. Now, of course, we have Sequoia
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  Capital, a prominent venture capital firm, has been a Byte
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  Dance investor and is expected to participate in this new
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  structure as well. You know, there was so many
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  other players in this. We're going to, we just touched
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  on a few. Coaching.
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  Management previously led by Philippe Lafont on Byte Dances
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  board has been considering selling portions of its bike
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  dance stake, but remains involved in discussions about
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  the new US entity as well. This is a convergence of Trump's
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  political relationships with major financial interests.
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  I believe Trump is going to bank this.
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  Something's going to happen. People will of course, take
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  their investments from from this investment of TikTok and give it
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  to a super PAC, give it to some of Trump's buddies, give it to
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  somebody who Trump endorses. So the money that they make from
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  this investment, of course they're going to just kind of
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  cycle it through it. It's basically money, money
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  laundering on a gigantic scale, crony money laundering.
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  And I like, listen, I'm not trying to be political here.
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  It's just what it is, OK? Like if you don't, if you don't
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  agree with the way that I'm saying things, I'm going
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  straight down the middle here. If it were anybody else, I would
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  say the same exact thing. I don't care who it is in
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  office. I don't care what side you're
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  on. I just don't care.
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  I am going to tell you how it is you put the pieces together.
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  All these people are all of his cronies, all of his buddies,
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  right? No matter who you are, you got
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  to look at this objectively. It's Trump and a bunch of his
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  billionaire friends trying to buy the media that's in your
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  pocket that you look at all day long on your lunch break before
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  you get your ride, during your ride, when you're just hanging
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  out with your friends or family instead of watching TV, you're
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  on Tiktok because everybody's so interesting and exciting.
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  You're wasting your time on Tiktok and now you're going to
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  be fed a bunch of right wing propaganda through the platform.
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  If it were left wing, I would say it would be left wing
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  propaganda. I'm just here to tell you the
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  truth. Now there are some financial and
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  political implications for this. This is a convergence of Trump's
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  relationships. Jeff.
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  Yes. A $16,000,000 contribution to
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  Trump's campaign coincided with repeated delays of the TikTok
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  ban, raising questions about the political donations and also
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  policy decisions. Similarly, the involvement of
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  Anderson Horowitz reflects the firm's deep integration into
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  Trump's admin, the former A16Z employees staffing key
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  government positions. The transaction creates a unique
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  situation where some of the wealthiest Americans gain
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  control of a media platform that reaches nearly half of the US
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  population, with potential implications for content
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  moderation and algorithmic control that extends beyond
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  traditional business considerations.
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  And under this new ownership structure, Oracle will
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  restructure and secure Tik Tok's algorithm, ensuring that the
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  recommendation system remains under American oversight.
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  They have half of the US population in the palm of their
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  hands. When you have TikTok in your
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  hands, US users will need to download a new app that
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  replicates Tik Tok's functionality but operates
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  entirely on American infrastructure with US
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  controlled algorithms. All user data will be stored on
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  Oracle's cloud servers in Texas, with no access from China.
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  You've got to download a new app.
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  And of course, you're addicted to TikTok.
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  More than likely not you in general, not you particularly,
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  but in general, people are addicted to TikTok.
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  They love it. I, I watch Tik Tok's, it's cool.
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  I watch some of them, they're fun.
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  But when this merger happens, I'm going to keep it and I'm
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  going to see what happens. You know, when they, when they
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  do this buyout, I'm going to see what happens.
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  You have to stay objective with everything in your life, not
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  just TikTok and not just politics.
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  You know, they're going to continue globally.
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  Tik Tok's continuing operating globally, meaning US users can
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  still view content from international creators while
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  their data remains domestically controlled.
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  Bytedance will license its tech to the new entity, but loses
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  operational control over the platform in America.
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  This agreement satisfies the 2024 bipartisan law requiring
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  Byte Dance to divest Tik Tok's US operations or face a
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  nationwide ban. Trump has extended the
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  enforcement deadline to December 16th of 2025, with an additional
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  120 day extension built into the executive order to allow time to
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  finalize all aspects of the transaction.
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  So either late this year or four months after that unless he
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  writes another executive order for 120 day extension.
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  So it could be sometime late spring, summer next year or
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  December 16th right before Christmas, which would be great
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  for some people. You know, they want to get those
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  that algorithm back in US hands. You know, if if they want to do
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  this, and I don't know why they would want to keep this going,
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  this deal going TikTok and bite dance.
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  Why would they do that? They're going to get a bunch of
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  money. Yes, they will lose their
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  platform in America. They could just shut it off.
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  They have all of our data anyway, right?
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  They have all your data. They know exactly what you've
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  looked at a bunch of times. They know all the algorithm
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  stuff, like what makes you tick. They know they've written a
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  profile about you. They know everything about you.
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  So what they could do at this point, because they have all
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  half of America's data, they could just shut it down if they
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  wanted to. And it.
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  The deal requires final approval from Chinese authorities, though
• 14:37
  Trump administration officials express confidence that China
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  has consented to the agreement following discussions between
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  Trump and Xi Jinping. The framework was negotiated
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  through talks in Madrid between US and Chinese representatives,
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  with Treasurer Secretary Scott Besent leading the American
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  delegation. This represents one of the
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  largest tech acquisitions in recent years, between 50 and
• 15:04
  $100 billion, depending on whether it includes Tik Tok's
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  proprietary algorithm. It's not going to Tik Tok's not
• 15:12
  going to give that away. So they're going to take a
• 15:15
  lower, lower payment, keep the algorithm.
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  But yeah, between 50 and $100 billion, a lot of money.
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  The deal not only resolves immediate national security
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  concerns, but also establishes a new model for foreign technology
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  platforms operating in the United States under American
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  oversight and control. I want to know what you think.
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  Do you think it's OK for every person to be involved with this,
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  to be a good buddies with the president?
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  It doesn't matter what president it is but or who these people
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  are. But the most powerful people in
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  America, the most wealthy people in America.
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  This is how it always been though.
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  Look at look at history. The powerful people, they
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  control the media. They always have.
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  Tiktok is the media now. Nobody reads newspapers.
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  What is a newspaper? Nobody watches TV.
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  The only the only thing people watch TV for is for live sports.
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  And all the live sports are moving to streaming anyway.
• 16:23
  Nobody does that. So half of the US population use
• 16:26
  Tiktok. This is the media now.
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  Tiktok is the media. How easy is it to make a million
• 16:34
  15 second propaganda videos and send them out to everybody?
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  How easy is it for them to do that?
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  It's so easy. You can do that so easy and you
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  can do it. You know, there's so many AI
• 16:52
  opportunities there. They can make incredible,
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  incredible Hollywood movie style AI created 15 second 22nd 32nd
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  tik toks and feed them to everybody.
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  I don't care what side you're on.
• 17:15
  I really don't like that I don't care just be nice.
• 17:17
  That's it just be a nice person don't be a jerk, but it is
• 17:21
  weird. Let me know in the comments on
• 17:24
  your TikTok. Oh I mean your podcast player.
• 17:29
  Let me know what you think because I want to hear from you.
• 17:32
  This is a really wild time we're in right now.
• 17:37
  Hey, thank you so much for listening today.
• 17:39
  I really do appreciate your support.
• 17:41
  If you could take a second and hit the subscribe or the follow
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  button on whatever podcast platform that you're listening
• 17:46
  on right now, I greatly appreciate it.
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  miss an episode. And each episode is about 10
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  minutes or less to get you caught up quickly.
• 17:57
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• 18:00
  to Atreoncom Stage Zero. And please take care of
• 18:05
  yourselves and each other. And I'll see you tomorrow.