Even as his $44 billion buyout came down to the wire, Elon Musk kept Twitter guessing.

Normally, lawyers and advisers on each side of a corporate transaction work closely together to ensure a smooth closing. But as the clock ticked down towards a court-imposed October 28 deadline for the takeover to close, Musk’s camp mostly worked in isolation, leaving Twitter on the sidelines with their fingers crossed.

“We didn’t know when we would close on Thursday night until 15 minutes before it happened,” said one Twitter adviser.