Elon Musk may no longer be publicly fighting with President Donald Trump online, but that does not mean his criticism of Trump’s inner circle has stopped. The former DOGE chief recently targeted Sergio Gor, one of Trump’s top advisers and new US ambassador to India, in a social media post. Musk called him a “snake” while responding to a New York Post article.
“He’s a snake,” Musk wrote on his social media platform X (formerly Twitter) in mid-June, reacting to the Post report that questioned whether Gor had gone through the proper process to secure his clearance.
He’s a snake
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) June 19, 2025
The New York Post report claimed that Gor, who runs the White House personnel office and oversees the vetting of thousands of government staffers, has not actually filed the required paperwork to obtain a permanent security clearance. This raised questions about how he could oversee such a critical process while allegedly not being properly cleared himself.
However, the White House strongly rejected those claims. “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,” White House counsel David Warrington said in a statement, making it clear that the administration stood behind Gor.
Vice President JD Vance comes to Gor’s defence
Vice President JD Vance also publicly defended Gor, praising him for his work in staffing the administration with people who support Trump’s America First vision. “He’s done a great job, and will continue to do so,” Vance added, signaling that Gor still enjoys strong backing from senior leadership despite Musk’s attacks.
A history of tension between Musk and Gor
Musk’s issues with Gor did not start overnight. Their tensions go back months, particularly to a Cabinet meeting in March. During that meeting, Musk clashed with several Cabinet members over proposed cuts to their agencies. The confrontation led Trump to step in and make it clear that department heads had authority over their own agencies, not Musk.
From that point, Musk made it known he did not want to work with Gor, who was playing an influential role in personnel decisions. Their disagreements only deepened when Gor was linked to the move that blocked Jared Isaacman’s nomination for NASA chief – a candidate Musk had strongly supported.
The decision to drop Isaacman’s nomination was widely seen as the last straw for Musk. Soon after, Musk launched into an online tirade against Trump and the “Big Beautiful Bill” the president was trying to push through Congress.
Trump himself later admitted that the NASA nomination decision likely triggered Musk’s anger. This clash signaled the beginning of the end of Musk’s working relationship with Trump, with Musk eventually stepping back from his government duties.
The fight between Musk and Trump was very public, with Musk attacking Trump online and Trump dismissing Musk’s criticisms. At one point, Musk even apologised on X, admitting that he “went too far” in his comments. Trump, for his part, said he held “no hard feelings” toward Musk despite the falling out.
This effort to cool things down showed both men wanted to move past the feud, even as the White House worried the drama was distracting from its larger goals and political priorities.