Elon Musk Podcast Trump backed TikTok's New American Owners
Jan 24, 2026
A breakdown of the $14 billion U.S. spinoff deal and who now holds control. Discussion of the new leadership, board makeup, and which apps are included. Deep dive into Oracle's role and how the recommendation algorithm will be retrained on U.S. data. Legal questions about compliance with the 2024 law and what ByteDance still controls. Political reactions and upcoming hearings are highlighted.
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Majority Control With A Near-Threshold Minority
- The U.S. spinoff gives American entities 80.1% ownership while ByteDance keeps 19.9% of TikTokUSDS Joint Venture LLC.
- The structure officially shifts control but leaves ByteDance as a near-threshold minority owner, keeping substantive ties to the platform.
Who Holds Decision Power And Data Control
- Oracle, Silver Lake, and MGX act as managing investors with decision power and 15% stakes each while a broader investor group holds 35.1%.
- Oracle will host U.S. data, continuously review code, and retrain the recommendation algorithm on U.S. data, which may change content patterns.
Watch Algorithm Retraining And Hearings
- Expect delay and change as Oracle retrains the algorithm on only U.S. data; content patterns could shift over months.
- Monitor retraining progress and policy hearings to assess whether the technical changes meet legal and security expectations.