Elon Musk is Funding More of his $44 Billion Twitter Buyout With his own Wealth and Seeking Additional Backers

The Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday that Tesla CEO Elon Musk is relying on more of his personal wealth and seeking additional financial backers to fund his $44 billion acquisition of Twitter. Twitter announced last month that it had accepted Musk's $44 billion buyout offer, subject to regulatory approval and shareholder approval. The transaction is expected to close in 2022, according to Twitter.

Musk's plan to fund the buyout includes $33.5 billion in equity, up from the initial $27.25 billion, according to a regulatory filing obtained by The Journal on Wednesday. The Tesla CEO is also talking to Twitter shareholders, including former Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey, about possibly keeping their stakes after the proposed acquisition as a way to fund the buyout.

The Journal also reported that Musk no longer intends to fund the buyout with Tesla stock, which fell by about a third after Musk's acquisition was announced in April.

The funding shift comes after Tesla CEO Elon Musk tweeted on May 13 that his potential acquisition of the social media platform was "temporarily on hold," citing a detail from a filing that said less than 5% of Twitter accounts are spam or fake — an issue Musk has promised to address if he acquires the site.