A top White House aide nursing a grudge against Elon Musk is being partly blamed for igniting President Donald Trump’s war with the Tesla CEO.
Sergio Gor, the White House director of presidential personnel, urged Trump to rescind his nomination for Musk’s personal friend Jared Isaacman to lead NASA, sparking a rift between the president and the world’s richest man that erupted in public Thursday, the New York Post reported.
“The NASA guy was the straw that broke the camel’s back,” a White House source told the Post, suggesting that Gor wanted “to bury the knife in [Musk’s] back.”
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Four sources inside or close to the White House told the outlet that Gor, 38, has been holding a grudge against Musk, 53, ever since the billionaire “humiliated” him in front of the Trump Cabinet for not moving fast enough on staffing the administration.
“Sergio was upset about Elon dressing him down at the meeting and said he was going to ‘get him,’” another source said. “[Pulling Isaacman’s nomination] was the modern-day equivalent of the assassination of Franz Ferdinand. Sure, Sergio got a scalp, but what did POTUS get?”
Gor reportedly developed a deep personal dislike of Musk while the tech mogul was still on friendly terms with Trump, and gleefully celebrated dips in Musk’s wealth when Tesla stock plunged, according to three of the sources.
“He’d go around showing Tesla stock prices going down and laugh about it,” one White House source told the Post. The outlet said Gor denied taking pleasure in Tesla’s falling stock or ever seeking revenge against Musk.
Former Trump strategist Steve Bannon backed up Gor, saying the Trump-Musk feud had been simmering for months over issues like Musk’s opposition to Trump’s tariff strategy.
“Did Elon have a problem with Sergio?” Bannon, a longtime Musk antagonist told the Post. “Yes, the fact that we are not hiring enough—guess what—liberal f---ing progressive Democrats.”
He argued Trump engaged in the bitter spat because he’s “upset” over Musk’s failure to deliver significant savings at DOGE and his reported drug use.
Yet, Trump and Musk heaped praise on each other at a congenial send-off last Friday, following the conclusion of Musk’s term as a special adviser. It wasn’t until Trump withdrew Isaacman’s nomination shortly after Musk—his biggest financial backer in 2024—left the White House, that the billionaire launched a sharp attack on the president’s cherished “Big, Beautiful Bill,” calling it a “disgusting abomination” in an X post on Tuesday.
The Trump administration has cited Isaacman’s past donations to Democrats as the reason for Trump rescinding his nomination just days before his Senate confirmation. But Isaacman, another billionaire in Trumpworld, questioned that explanation, noting his donations have long been public knowledge.
“I don’t blame an influential adviser coming in and saying, ‘Look, here’s the facts, and I think we should kill this guy,’” Isaacman said on the All-In podcast Wednesday. “And the president’s got to make a call and move on.”
For now, it seems the administration is sticking with Gor. The Post said that White House Communications Director Steven Cheung called Gor “a vital member of the team and he has helped President Trump put together an administration that is second to none.”
One source close to the White House speculated, however, that Gor could become the fall guy and help mend the Trump-Musk relationship—if Musk can be convinced that the president was merely being “played” by Gor.
