The United States and China have reached a “framework” deal concerning social media platform TikTok, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent confirmed Monday, according to CNBC, marking the latest twist in the long-running battle over the app’s future.

“It’s between two private parties, but the commercial terms have been agreed upon,” Bessent said during U.S.-China talks in Madrid.

Both President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping are scheduled to meet on Friday to discuss the terms of the framework. In a post on Truth Social, Trump also hinted at the breakthrough, saying a deal was reached “on a ‘certain’ company that young people in our Country very much wanted to save.”

Bessent suggested that the framework could eventually pivot TikTok toward U.S.-controlled ownership, though specific details have not yet been released. TikTok itself has not commented on the deal.

From the Chinese side, Li Chenggang, Beijing’s lead trade negotiator, confirmed the existence of the framework but cautioned Washington against “continuing to suppress Chinese companies,” according to Reuters. His remarks came amid heightened U.S.-China trade tensions, worsened by Trump’s new tariffs and broader restrictions on Chinese firms.

At the same time, TikTok’s parent company, ByteDance, faces a looming September 17 deadline to divest TikTok’s U.S. operations or risk a nationwide shutdown. U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said Monday that while the deadline could be extended slightly to finalize the deal, “there won’t be ongoing extensions.”

The standoff has already seen Google and Apple blocked from distributing TikTok in the U.S. under its designation as a “foreign adversary-controlled application.” Trump postponed the full shutdown in January, issuing an executive order that gave ByteDance an additional 75 days to secure a deal. He later signed two more extensions in April and June, keeping TikTok alive as talks continued.

Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick in July warned that TikTok would “shutter for Americans” if Beijing does not grant Washington greater autonomy over the platform. Trump himself told Fox News in June that he had assembled a group of “very wealthy people” prepared to buy the app, though their identities were never revealed.

Potential suitors have ranged from Oracle chairman Larry Ellison to Tesla CEO Elon Musk, while others like artificial intelligence startup Perplexity and businessman Frank McCourt’s Project Liberty internet advocacy group have formally submitted bids, according to CNBC.

Even as Trump maintains that TikTok poses a national security threat, the White House itself opened an official TikTok account in August, underscoring the app’s grip on young voters ahead of the 2026 elections.

This is not the first time Washington has pushed TikTok to the brink of a ban. The saga mirrors the Trump administration’s earlier attempts to force a U.S. buyout in 2020, when Microsoft, Walmart, and Oracle all vied for control of TikTok’s American business. At that time, Trump cited national security concerns over user data potentially flowing to Beijing, echoing the same arguments heard today. Although Oracle was briefly announced as TikTok’s “trusted technology partner,” the deal never gained full approval, and legal challenges stalled enforcement of a ban.

Outside the U.S., India was another country that moved to ban the use of Chinese apps under national security grounds. In June 2020, New Delhi banned TikTok outright alongside dozens of other Chinese apps over security and data concerns. But unlike the U.S., which has opted for drawn-out negotiations and potential ownership transfers, India took a unilateral approach that reshaped its digital ecosystem overnight.

The difference now is that the Trump administration has been willing to repeatedly extend deadlines and keep negotiations alive, highlighting both the app’s massive popularity in the U.S. and its bargaining power in U.S.-China trade talks. The upcoming Trump-Xi meeting will determine whether this framework leads to a permanent resolution or becomes another chapter in a long series of extensions.

Elon Musk has opened his wallet again, this time pouring $1 billion into Tesla shares, though the move barely shifts the needle toward his long-stated goal of tightening control over the electric vehicle maker.

A regulatory filing released Monday revealed Musk bought about 2.6 million shares on Friday, lifting his total holding to roughly 413 million shares. That raised his ownership stake only slightly, from 12.7% to 12.8%. The incremental increase, which underscores the scale of Tesla’s $1.2 trillion market value, marked Musk’s first open-market buy since 2020 and signals renewed confidence in Tesla’s trajectory. The new purchase Yet in percentage terms, the gain was small. The $1 billion outlay increased his stake by just 0.08%.

To reach the 25% threshold he has publicly demanded — a level he said would give him enough sway to be “influential” while still leaving room for him to be “overturned” — Musk would need to more than double his current holding. That means acquiring an additional 12.2% of Tesla, a stake worth upward of $150 billion at current prices.

Even Musk, with a net worth of $419 billion according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, would face steep hurdles. His wealth is largely tied up in Tesla stock itself and illiquid stakes in his private ventures, including SpaceX and artificial intelligence startup xAI. Freeing up cash on that scale would be extraordinarily difficult. And that’s before considering the market effect: any large-scale, open-market buying spree would likely push Tesla’s share price even higher, inflating the bill.

Legal Clouds Over His Compensation Shares

Musk’s calculations are further complicated by unresolved disputes over his 2018 compensation plan. That package awarded him 304 million stock options — shares that would substantially boost his influence if unlocked. But earlier this year, a Delaware court voided the deal, ruling that Tesla’s board failed to exercise independence in approving it.

The 304 million disputed shares were not included in the latest filing. Nor were the 96 million restricted shares Musk was granted in August, which remain tied up in conditions. Business Insider, which first broke down the filing, excluded both tranches in calculating his effective stake.

The legal fight over those shares hangs over Tesla’s governance as its board now pushes a fresh $1 trillion compensation proposal for Musk. That deal, tied to ambitious operational milestones like boosting Tesla’s valuation eightfold to $8.5 trillion and deploying a million robotaxis, could catapult him toward the ownership levels he craves without the need for open-market purchases.

Confidence or Power Play?

For now, Musk’s $1 billion purchase could be read two ways. On one hand, it fits with his January 2024 declaration that he wants 25% voting control or else would prefer to “build products outside of Tesla.” The buy-in could be part of a long-term strategy to claw toward that threshold.

On the other hand, it may be less about power and more about signaling. With Tesla navigating slowing EV demand and intensifying competition, Musk may be using his own capital to reassure investors of his conviction in the company’s future.

Either way, this was his first open-market buy in four years, making it a significant gesture. Whether more follow could provide critical clues about whether Musk intends to chip away gradually at Tesla’s ownership structure — or whether he is simply flexing confidence in a company he insists is only getting started.

What Comes Next?

Looking ahead, analysts say Musk’s path to 25% control could play out in several ways.

Gradual accumulation: If Musk continues buying shares on the open market, each additional billion-dollar purchase would barely move the needle. To realistically double his stake through this method would take years and vast amounts of liquid cash — something even Musk may struggle to free up without offloading parts of SpaceX or other ventures.

Board-driven compensation: The more plausible route lies in Tesla’s proposed $1 trillion compensation package. If shareholders approve it and Musk meets the ambitious milestones, he could secure enough new stock to elevate his voting power toward the 25% mark without draining his personal fortune. But the deal faces legal and governance scrutiny, especially given the court’s rejection of his earlier package.

Status quo: Musk may choose to hold steady, using symbolic stock buys like this one to demonstrate confidence while focusing his real energy on steering Tesla toward growth targets that justify his influence. In this case, the 25% goal could remain aspirational rather than operational.

However, Musk’s latest move has given him little in terms of numbers — but it has reignited speculation about how far he will go to cement his hold over Tesla and whether the next chapter will be written in the courtroom, the boardroom, or the stock market.