Donald Trump and Elon Musk鈥檚 break-up appeared to leave a gaping hole in the White House with the position of the president鈥檚 鈥渇irst buddy鈥 up for grabs.
According to a report, another tech billionaire, Jeff Bezos, could be eyeing the spot.
The 61-year-old founder of Blue Origin, a competitor of Musk鈥檚 SpaceX, has already spoken to Trump twice this month, reports The Wall Street Journal.
During one conversation, sources said that Trump expressed a desire to see a crewed mission to the moon before the end of his tenure.
Those sources added that Blue Origin CEO Dave Limp visited the White House to meet with Trump鈥檚 Chief of Staff Susie Wiles in mid-June, which was bookended by Trump-Bezos calls.
Bezos and his Blue Origin executives have also appealed for more government contracts in conversations with Trump and his staff.
The Amazon co-founder鈥檚 initial outreach to the president reportedly came just days after the spectacular Trump-Musk feud erupted.
It saw the world鈥檚 richest man go on a destructive rampage, calling for Trump鈥檚 impeachment and accusing him of being linked to disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein.
In return, the president said that he may terminate billions of dollars in federal contracts to Musk鈥檚 companies, including SpaceX. Musk threatened to 鈥渋mmediately鈥 withdraw SpaceX鈥檚 Dragon spacecraft from service, a critical component of the U.S. space program.
While Musk conceded he went 鈥渢oo far,鈥 Bezos reportedly capitalized on the fallout in an attempt to close the gap between his space exploration company and SpaceX.
Musk and Trump鈥檚 frayed relationship also alleviated Blue Origin executives鈥 concerns that the Tesla CEO鈥檚 position in the White House posed a threat to the company鈥檚 access to lucrative government contracts, according to sources.
Trump and Bezos鈥檚 relationship hasn鈥檛 always been cordial. The president鈥檚 first term was marked by the pair making public jabs about both business and political conflicts.
After attending Trump鈥檚 inauguration in January, Bezos now appears to be digging in on his charm offensive.
The president has even got the invite to Bezos鈥檚 celebrity-filled Venice wedding to Lauren Sanchez this weekend, sources said. While Trump is not expected to make the journey to the Venetian waterways, his daughter, Ivanka, will be in attendance.
Musk and Bezos, two of the wealthiest people on the planet, have clashed for years in the race to conquer space. SpaceX ultimately surpassed Blue Origin to become NASA鈥檚 leading contractor.
Over the past year, SpaceX has launched more than 140 missions compared with Blue Origin鈥檚 single launch.
Musk鈥檚 Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy rockets are both reusable and are launched at a dramatically lower cost than competitor crafts.
In April, SpaceX reached $5.9 billion deal for 28 flights planned for the years ahead. Blue Origin was awarded $2.4 billion for seven launches.