As the deadline to strike a deal over TikTok approaches this week, President Donald Trump has signaled that he is confident his administration can broker an agreement with ByteDance, the social media app’s China-based parent company.

Speaking with reporters on Air Force One late Sunday, Trump said that “there’s tremendous interest in Tiktok.” He added that he would “like to see TikTok remain alive.” The president’s comments came less than one week before an April deadline requiring ByteDance to divest or face a ban in the United States.

“We have a lot of potential buyers,” Trump said.

Trump also said that the administration is “dealing with China” who “also want it because they may have something to do with it.” Last week, Trump said he would consider a reduction in tariffs on China if that country’s government approves a sale of TikTok’s operations in the U.S.

Questions about the fate of the popular video sharing app have continued to linger since a law requiring ByteDance’s divestment took effect on Jan. 19. After taking office, Trump gave TikTok a 75-day reprieve by signing an executive order that delayed enforcement of the statute until April 5.

During his first term, Trump tried to ban TikTok on national security grounds, which was halted by the courts before his administration negotiated a sale of the platform that eventually failed to materialize. He changed his position on the popular app during last year’s presidential election and has credited the platform with helping him win more young voters.

“I won the young vote by 36 points. Republicans generally don’t do very well with the young vote,” he said Sunday. “I think a lot of it could have been TikTok.”

Trump has said that the deadline on a TikTok deal could be extended further if needed. He previously proposed terms in which the U.S. would have a 50% stake in a joint venture. The administration hasn’t provided details on what that type of deal would entail.

TikTok and ByteDance have not publicly commented on the talks. It’s also unclear if ByteDance has changed its position on selling TikTok, which it said early last year it does not plan to do.

What will happen on April 5?

If TikTok is not sold to an approved buyer by April 5, the original law that bans it nationwide would once again go into effect. However, the deadline for the executive order doesn’t appear to be set in stone and the president has reiterated it could be extended further if needed.

Trump’s order came a few days after the Supreme Court unanimously upheld a federal law that required ByteDance to divest or be banned in January. The day after the ruling, TikTok went dark for U.S. users and came back online after Trump vowed to stall the ban.

The decision to keep TikTok alive through an executive order has received some scrutiny, but it has not faced a legal challenge in court.

Who wants to buy TikTok?

Although it’s unclear if ByteDance plans to sell TikTok, several potential bidders have come forward in the past few months.

Aides for Vice President JD Vance, who was tapped to oversee a potential deal, have reached out to some parties, such as the artificial intelligence startup Perplexity AI, to get additional details about their bids, according to a person familiar with the matter. In January, Perplexity AI presented ByteDance with a merger proposal that would combine Perplexity’s business with TikTok’s U.S. operation.

Other potential bidders include a consortium organized by billionaire businessman Frank McCourt, which recently recruited Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian as a strategic adviser. Investors in the consortium say they’ve offered ByteDance $20 billion in cash for TikTok’s U.S. platform. And if successful, they plan to redesign the popular app with blockchain technology they say will provide users with more control over their online data.

Jesse Tinsley, the founder of the payroll firm Employer.com, says he too has organized a consortium, which includes the CEO of the video game platform Roblox, and is offering ByteDance more than $30 billion for TikTok.

Trump said in January that Microsoft was also eyeing the popular app. Other interested parties include Trump’s former Treasury secretary Steve Mnuchin and Rumble, the video site popular with some conservatives and far-right groups. In a post on X last March, Rumble said it was ready to join a consortium of parties interested in purchasing TikTok and serving as a tech partner for the company.

This story was originally featured on Fortune.com

Automakers including General Motors Co. and Hyundai Motor Co. reported higher US auto sales as the threat of price hikes from President Donald Trump’s tariffs drove consumers to showrooms.

GM’s deliveries soared 17% in the first quarter, with a 15% gain in retail volume, the company said Tuesday. Ford Motor Co. saw retail sales rise while Toyota Motor Corp. reported slight growth in the first three months of the year.

The past weekend was “by far the best weekend I’ve seen in a very long time,” Randy Parker, the chief executive officer of Hyundai and Genesis in North America, told reporters. “Lots of people rushed in this weekend, especially to try and beat the tariffs.”

The just-ended quarter may end up being the last of relative normalcy before the industry is upended by Trump’s 25% tariffs on passenger-vehicle imports that take effect this week. Cars assembled overseas account for about half of US auto sales. And even cars made domestically often use a significant amount of non-US parts, some of which may also be subject to levies.

Researchers including Edmunds and Cox Automotive had predicted volumes would likely get a boost from anxious shoppers buying before prices potentially rise.

“The prospect of tariffs is already beginning to affect the industry,” Thomas King, president of data and analytics at JD Power, said in a statement. March results were “particularly strong, enabled by consumers accelerating purchases to avoid potential tariff-related price increases.”

Hyundai saw record sales for the latest month and quarter, buoyed by double-digit gains in demand for its best-selling Tucson small SUV and Elantra compact sedan. For the first three months, Hyundai said Tuesday that it saw a 10% gain in deliveries to 203,554 vehicles, boosted by a 13% jump last month. 

Sister brand Kia Corp. similarly posted record sales, with an 11% rise in the January to March period to 198,850 vehicles. Buyers snapped up its compact Sportage SUV and new K4 sedan.

GM’s sales in March were strong, a company spokesman said, though it’s difficult to quantify how much came from buyers trying to get ahead of Trump’s tariffs. The Detroit-based automaker’s big gains came from freshened versions of the Chevrolet Colorado mid-size pickup, which was up 73%, while sales of the Chevy Traverse mid-sized SUV rose 62%.

Toyota sales grew 7.7% in March, but less than 1% in the year-to-date period. Deliveries of the Japanese automaker’s best-selling RAV4 compact SUV and Camry midsize sedan declined during the latest month and quarter. The two models are Toyota’s top sellers and inventories are tight, a US-based spokesman for the carmaker said. 

Sales of Lexus luxury brand vehicles rose 5.8% in March and 14% in the January-March period.

Ford saw a 5% quarterly gain in retail sales and 19% jump in March alone. But overall volume slipped 1.3% in the first quarter to 498,480 units, excluding heavy trucks. That was largely due to lower rental fleet sales and the discontinuation of two models, the company said.

Honda reported a 5% rise in first—quarter sales and a 13% jump in March across its namesake brand and Acura luxury vehicle lines. Deliveries of the Japanese carmaker’s top-selling CR-V crossover grew 9% in the quarter and 24% last month.

Tesla Inc. is expected to detail its global delivery numbers for the most recent quarter on Wednesday.

Tariff Threats

Representatives of several large US automakers have been lobbying the Trump administration to exclude certain low-cost car components from the planned tariffs, Bloomberg News reported Monday.

While it’s not clear how new costs will be distributed between automakers, suppliers and car buyers, prices are expected to rise considerably. A recent study by Anderson Economic Group found that the tariffs could increase the cost to build vehicles by as much as $12,000. That could make some models unviable in the US, particularly at the lower end of the market.

Sales of Chevy’s South Korea-made Trax small SUV rose 57%. That vehicle faces a 25% tariff starting April 3.

GM’s electric-vehicle sales nearly doubled in the quarter, led by its Mexico-made Chevy Blazer and Equinox EVs. Those models would be hit by tariffs on their non-US parts content if Trump sticks to his original plan.

Dealers have seen a surge in demand from would-be buyers worried about prices. Chevrolet dealer Duane Paddock said GM sent an unusually large amount of inventory to meet the buyer interest.

US dealerships are sitting on about 60 to 90 days of inventory on average, providing them with a cushion against the immediate effects of the tariffs.

“It has created an urgency to buy it now before there’s a price increase,” Rhett Ricart, a dealer of Ford, Chevrolet, Hyundai and other brands in Columbus, Ohio, said.

This story was originally featured on Fortune.com

Source link