Elon Musk to buy Twitter

The clock is ticking for Elon Musk to buy Twitter — and he's running out of time

– Elon Musk has until Friday at 5 p.m. ET to close his deal with Twitter or a trial date will be set.

– Experts say the deal is expected to close. If not, Musk could face an uphill battle in court.

– If Musk becomes Twitter's new owner, Twitter will undergo a chapter of major change and likely layoffs.

The billionaire has only four days to close his deal with Twitter or face a trial — which experts say he is likely to lose.

Earlier this month, the Delaware judge overseeing the court case gave the two parties until 5 p.m. ET on October 28 to agree to a new deal or the case will resume in a five-day trial in November.

Judge Kathaleen St. J. McCormick is unlikely to offer an extension and would favor a quick start for the trial if Musk misses the deadline, University of Michigan business law professor Erik Gordon told Insider.

Ann Lipton, a business law professor at Tulane University Law School, told Insider that, "unless there's truly some new, intervening event that was entirely out of Musk's control that derails the deal, he'll probably have exhausted the court's supply of goodwill."

Anat Alon-Beck, assistant professor of law at Case Western Reserve University, said Musk would likely end up buying the company even if he can't complete the acquisition ahead of the deadline — after paying millions more in legal fees.

But, experts say Musk is likely to reach a deal before the deadline expires on Friday.