TikTok offices in Culver City, California (Mario Tama/Getty Images)

By some measures, TikTok has grown bigger than Facebook or Instagram in the US

Oracle’s potential TikTok takeover is a big deal to US competitors like Meta and Snap.

9/17/25 1:31PM

There’s more at stake with Oracle’s potential control of TikTok’s US operations than national security and geopolitical harmony. The fate of some of America’s biggest social media companies, like Meta, Snap, Reddit, and Pinterest, also hangs in the balance.

And judging by the latest data from Similarweb, reported exclusively by Sherwood News, TikTok is in some respects more popular among Americans — a very lucrative social media demographic — than its competitors.

Meta doesn’t break out user numbers anymore for its individual properties, and TikTok, a company owned by privately held ByteDance, last disclosed that it had 170 million monthly US users in March 2024, so Sherwood asked Similarweb, a digital market intelligence company, for more recent estimates.

Since TikTok briefly went dark and then was resurrected early this year, the platform has pulled ahead of Instagram and Facebook as far as app monthly active users (MAUs) in the US. In August, TikTok had 183 million monthly active users on iOS and Android, according to Similarweb, up 16% from a year ago. That’s more than Pinterest and Snapchat combined.

TikTok’s daily active users (DAUs) grew 19% year over year to 102 million, just shy of Facebook’s 107 million daily users — a testament to how ingrained the older social network has become for some Americans over the years. Facebook leads TikTok by a small margin on desktop and mobile web as well, but the audiences there are smaller than in the apps.

The details of the spin-off are still being hammered out and a lot could change. But what’s certain is that there’s plenty of potential value to be found in TikTok’s American user base for those who own it.

Rani Molla6h

Tesla closes at all-time high

Tesla closed at an all-time high today of over $489. The company has been riding high as it tests its autonomous Robotaxi service without safety monitors and takes a bigger chunk of shrinking EV market share. Its previous high was $479 on December 17 last year.

Rani Molla6h

Tesla competitor Slate has 150,000 reservations and its mid-$20,000 price is “firm”

So-called Tesla killer Slate Auto now has 150,000 reservations, up 50% from this summer, for the company’s low-cost electric truck, according to CEO Chris Barman, who posted an “ask me anything” today. While that’s not exactly gangbusters interest for the truck, which is expected to come out late next year, it shows that new reservations are outpacing attrition.

The interest has kept up even as EV interest wanes following the end of the government’s $7,500 tax credit.

“The Slate is still affordable,” Barman said of the credit’s effect on the truck’s mid-$20,000 price point. “It doesn’t matter.”

She also noted that the SUV kit will cost $5,000 and test drives will start next year.

As we reported yesterday, typical automakers are rolling back their EV production, leaving room for EV-only companies like Tesla and Slate to gain market share.

Rani Molla7h

Instagram Reels is coming to a TV near you

Move over, Netflix. Meta is bringing Instagram Reels to a TV near you. The company on Tuesday unveiled its first dedicated TV app, letting users watch its short-form, user-generated videos on bigger screens. The app will debut on Amazon’s Fire TV before expanding to other platforms.

Instagram now competes not only with social video rivals like TikTok and YouTube, but increasingly with long-form streaming entertainment as well. Netflix, for instance, has argued that it needs to buy Warner Bros. Discovery in order to better compete with platforms like YouTube, which people spend more time watching on TV than anything else. YouTube may offer traditional streaming bundles, but much of its content still comes from user uploads — underscoring how deeply social video has encroached on the living room.

Instagram’s new TV app suggests Meta sees the same opportunity: if social video is already capturing big-screen attention, it wants a larger share of it.

Instagram Debuts Dedicated Television App for Amazon Fire TV

Instagram’s new TV app suggests Meta sees the same opportunity: if social video is already capturing big-screen attention, it wants a larger share of it.

Rani Molla11h

Tesla CEO Elon Musk is getting back into politics

Tesla CEO Elon Musk is cutting big checks to the GOP for the midterm elections as he dives back into politics, Axios reports.

Students of history might remember when Tesla’s stock tanked in the first half of the year thanks in part to Musk’s political machinations with DOGE. Or when Musk’s beef with the president of the United States sent the stock down sharply — twice. Or when Musk formed a competing third political party that also hurt the stock.

When Tesla’s board of directors laid out his latest humongous pay package, which has since been approved by shareholders, they said it was “critical” that it “receive assurances that Musk’s involvement with the political sphere would wind down in a timely manner.”

At the same time, they didn’t really put any guardrails in place to make sure that happened. And here we are!

Scoop: Elon Musk diving into 2026 midterms for the GOP

At the same time, they didn’t really put any guardrails in place to make sure that happened. And here we are!

Jon Keegan11h

Report: OpenAI and Mattel hit pause on AI toys

This summer, OpenAI and Mattel announced a deal to bring AI-powered toys and games to market. According to a new report from Axios, those plans are currently on hold.

Recently, stories have emerged of how potentially dangerous AI-powered toys can be when the proper guardrails have not been put in place.

OpenAI has faced increased scrutiny of its safety mechanisms for chatbots after several tragic failures that led to deaths. Congress is starting to examine the psychological risks of AI use by those with mental health issues, and children’s use of AI companions.