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Elon Musk has blasted a top White House aide, who reportedly prompted his public falling out with Donald Trump, branding him as a “snake.”
The tech billionaire posted the stinging response to a new report in The New York Post, claiming that Sergio Gor – director of presidential personnel and vetting members of Trump’s team – had not vetted himself for the role.
“He’s a snake,” Musk wrote on X, weeks after unleashing a barrage of posts against the president himself in an explosive online clash. Musk later apologized to the president.
Gor is in charge of vetting around 4,000 members of the executive branch, using old social media posts, political donations and remarks to select those loyal to the president.
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However, The Post’s report found that he has not yet submitted official paperwork about his own background. Such documentation is needed to procure a permanent security clearance.
Three sources insiders told the outlet that Gor has not turned in his Standard Form 86, or SF-86 – a hefty set of questions spanning more than 100 pages, that is required for officials who need high-level security clearances.
In a statement to The Independent, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt branded the report “baseless gossip.”
Another official added: “Mr. Gor is fully compliant with all applicable ethical and legal obligations. His security clearance is active, any insinuation he doesn’t maintain a clearance is false.”
The beef between Musk and Gor allegedly came to a head as the Tesla boss prepared to depart the White House.
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The pair’s rivalry intensified Trump’s decision to withdraw the nomination of Jared Isaacman – a close friend of Musk’s – to be the next administrator of NASA.
Rumours spread that Gor was behind the decision and intended it as an “out-the-door ‘f*** you’ to Musk.” Gor, according to the Post, developed a grudge against Musk after the tech mogul “humiliated” him in front of other cabinet members.
After the event, Gor would publicly boast every time Tesla’s stock plunged, according to reports.
That version of events has been disputed, however, with complaints from Republican senators about Isaacman’s track record as a Democratic donor also given as a reason for the decision.
Musk and Trump’s relationship has become strained by this point, according to reports, after the former’s criticizm of the “big beautiful bill.”
“There were some people that had some axes to grind, I guess, and I was a good, visible target,” Isaacman said after his nomination was pulled.
“Perception is reality, though, and I’m pretty sure Elon thought the NASA situation was a last insult,” an official told Axios at the time. “So here we are.”
