In a lengthy piece, the New York Post took readers behind the scenes at the White House to identify a top Trump staffer who'd been "fanning flames" of conflict between the two.

And Musk and the staffer had been at loggerheads for months, the Post reported.

Citing interviews with five unidentified sources, described as "inside or close to the White House," the Post reported that Sergio Gor, the director of presidential personnel, was known to have been involved in an ongoing feud with Musk dating back to even before Trump's inauguration in January.

During the presidential transition period, Musk had described Gor as "sleazy," according to the Post, and "questioning his staffing picks."

At a March 6 cabinet meeting, the paper reported, Musk attacked Gor in front of the president.

"Elon was always telling the president 'Sergio's not moving fast enough to hire people. He's not the right guy for the job,'" one source told the Post. "In front of the entire cabinet, he said that. It's not just humiliating, but the president starts looking at him like, 'Why aren't you doing your f***ing job?'"

For his part, Gor made a habit of mocking Musk, according to the Post, especially when stock dropped in Tesla, Musk's electric vehicle company. He would also "plant" negative stories about Musk, one source told the Post.

"Elon was, like, his obsession, and he would plant a story on Elon and he would send me the link and then send me a screenshot of Tesla's stock price with a laughing face," the source said, according to the Post. "I own Tesla stock, so this is not a good thing for me!

"It showed how intense that fight had become, and how committed and obsessed with it Sergio was, and that's what I don't think anybody has really captured."

Gor was also bent on revenge, one source told the Post.

"He was bragging to other people that he was going to get one last shot at Elon out the door," the source said, according to the newspaper. "He was going to get Elon back for making him look bad."

Musk officially left White House service on Friday, and all appeared amicable between him and Trump, despite Musk's public criticisms of the "Big, Beautiful Bill" that has become Trump's most important political priority.