Less than a month after extending a deadline to ban TikTok for the third time, President Donald Trump told reporters late Friday night that, “We pretty much have a deal,” on TikTok — but he did not offer details.

The details and timing of a potential deal are not clear. TikTok did not respond to messages for comment on Monday.

Emarketer analyst Jeremy Goldman said while TikTok is “reportedly planning” a U.S. version of its app to comply with legal restrictions, the platform — if it launches without the original TikTok algorithm — “risks losing the very personalization that drives user engagement.”

In other words, TikTok just isn’t TikTok without its algorithm.

“And getting millions to download a new app is no small feat, to say the least,” Goldman added.

Trump has amassed more than 15 million followers on TikTok since he joined last year, and he has credited the trendsetting platform with helping him gain traction among young voters. He said in January that he has a “warm spot for TikTok.”

Here’s what to know about where TikTok stands in the U.S. following Trump’s comments.

TikTok stays for now

For now, TikTok continues to function for its 170 million users in the U.S. Tech giants Apple, Google and Oracle were persuaded to continue to offer and support the app, on the promise that Trump’s Justice Department would not use the law to seek potentially steep fines against them.

Trump said Friday that on Monday or Tuesday, the U.S. would take the proposal to Chinese leader Xi Jinping or one of his representatives. The president said he thinks they “probably” need China to approve the deal but he wasn’t sure they needed to.

When asked whether he was confident China would approve the deal, Trump said, “I’m not confident but I think so.”

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.

Perplexity had no comment on Monday.

Other potential bidders include a consortium organized by billionaire business executive 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.

Among the possible investors are the software company Oracle and the investment firm Blackstone. Neither company responded to messages seeking comment on Monday.

Musk-Trump feud taking toll on Tesla

Shares of Tesla tumbled 7% Monday as the feud between CEO Elon Musk and President Donald Trump reignited over the weekend.

Musk, once a top donor and ally of Trump, announced that he was forming a third political party in protest over the Republican spending bill that passed late last week. Musk has been highly critical of the bill, which he said would kill jobs and bog down burgeoning industries.

In a social media post on Sunday, Trump said that the billionaire owner of SpaceX, Tesla and X had gone “off the rails” in recent weeks.

Investors fear that Musk’s companies, which receive significant subsidies from the federal government, could suffer further if his feud with Trump continues to fester.

Tesla shares have been extremely volatile since Musk went all-in for Trump in the run-up to last year’s election with the company facing a growing backlash as a result of Musk’s embrace of right-wing politics and his role in the Trump administration.

Tesla sales plunged 13% in the first quarter, and then repeated that performance in the second quarter, even though EV sales continue to rise for competitors, including big Detroit automakers. Industry analysts believe a large part of that tail off is being driven by Musk’s affiliation with Trump and far-right parties like Germany AfD.

Tesla is also facing rising competition globally, particularly from Chinese automakers such as BYD and Great Wall, which are quickly expanding globally, offering relatively affordable electric vehicles with ultra-fast battery charging systems.

Since hitting an all-time high of $479.76 on Dec. 17, Tesla shares have lost about 40% of their value. Tesla shares are down about $26 each since Thursday’s close, to $289.75.

— From news services