New Delhi: Elon Musk has backed a campaign seeking the reinstatement of the former Nvidia chief executive Jensen Huang, adding a prominent voice to employees questioning the co-founder’s abrupt departure. The intervention comes as the AI chipmaker searches for a permanent successor, with the finance chief, Colette Kress, running the company temporarily.
“A petition is underway to reinstate Jensen, and I’m signing it too,” Musk wrote on X on Friday. He also replied, “That would be an honor,” when another user suggested hiring Huang, although Musk has no authority over Nvidia’s board.
Musk’s intervention follows public support from the US president, Donald Trump, who earlier defended Huang amid the controversy. Trump described him as an “honorable guy” and praised his contributions to the US. However, Trump has not publicly endorsed Musk’s specific reinstatement petition.
Nvidia employees call for Huang’s reinstatement
The technology publication Wired reported that a longtime Nvidia engineer submitted an internal suggestion before Huang resigned, asking directors to consider employee sentiment before taking action.
The post later attracted more than 1,600 comments, many supporting his return. “If you believe in the mission, bring back THE boss,” one employee wrote.
The comments are not verified petition signatures, and it remains unclear whether Musk was referring to the same initiative.
Why Jensen Huang left Nvidia
Nvidia announced Huang’s resignation as president, CEO and board member on Thursday, although a filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission shows the board accepted his departure a day earlier. His exit followed intense scrutiny over reported personal relationships, as RNA Media previously reported.
Nvidia’s board had commissioned an independent investigation into the allegations. The New York Times reported, citing five people who had worked at Nvidia, that Huang had an extramarital relationship with Kimberly Powell, the company’s vice-president of healthcare, who reported directly to him. Two sources alleged that the pair were recorded behaving affectionately at a San Jose hotel during an Nvidia conference in March, although the newspaper had not independently viewed the footage.
Reuters separately reported another alleged relationship involving an Nvidia employee, citing two people familiar with the matter. Separately, US intelligence officials reportedly suspected the Chinese businesswoman Alice Huang of having intelligence links, as RNA Media reported earlier. The US attorney general, Todd Blanche, said the justice department had not concluded she was a spy, while China rejected the allegations.
No publicly disclosed finding has established that the reported relationships violated company policy.
Who could replace Jensen Huang?
Kress, Nvidia’s chief financial officer since 2013, continues in that position while serving as interim CEO. The company also appointed Harvey Jones its first board chairman, as detailed in RNA Media’s profile of Kress.
Nvidia had approached the Arm chief executive, Rene Haas, who previously worked at Nvidia for seven years, according to the Financial Times. However, Nvidia told CNBC it was still selecting an executive search firm and had not formally approached potential candidates.
“Any speculation regarding individual candidates, whether internal or external, is premature,” the board said.
Why the leadership transition matters
Huang co-founded Nvidia in 1993, transforming its graphics processors and CUDA software into essential components of the global AI industry.
Nvidia shares fell about 2 per cent on Friday, while Arm declined about 5 per cent, amid broader technology-sector weakness, following the earlier market turmoil covered by RNA Media.
With quarterly earnings scheduled for November 17, Nvidia maintains that customer commitments and product development will continue uninterrupted. Whether employee appeals and Musk’s endorsement influence its leadership transition remains uncertain.