ELON MUSK SIGNS PETITION TO BRING JENSEN HUANG BACK AS NVIDIA CEO AFTER CHINA SPY AFFAIR FORCES RESIGNATION
Elon Musk has thrown his weight behind a push to reinstate Jensen Huang as Nvidia CEO, declaring on X that “A petition is underway to reinstate Jensen and I’m signing it too.” The move comes one day after Huang, the co-founder who built Nvidia into the world’s dominant AI chipmaker over 33 years, resigned as president, CEO, and board member effective immediately.
Huang stepped down on November 12 after admitting an extramarital affair with Alice Huang, a Chinese national and former executive at Singapore-based Megaspeed. U.S. intelligence officials believe she was recruited by China’s Ministry of State Security to target him. A second affair with a direct subordinate, Nvidia healthcare VP Kimberly Powell, further fueled the board’s decision. In a letter to employees, Huang wrote: “I was unfaithful to my wife. My actions hurt her and our children. There is no excuse for what I did. I am deeply sorry.”
The board named longtime CFO Colette Kress interim CEO while it searches for a permanent replacement. Inside Nvidia, however, support for Huang remains strong. An internal employee post drew more than 1,600 comments, the majority calling for his return.
Musk’s public backing highlights a blunt reality. Huang turned a modest graphics company into a multi-trillion-dollar AI powerhouse that underpins American technological superiority.
Personal failings are real, and the Chinese intelligence angle is a serious national security concern that demands full investigation. Yet boards that treat founders as disposable risk handing Beijing a strategic victory by destabilizing the company that makes the chips powering the free world’s AI edge.
Musk, who has previously said hiring Huang would be “an honor,” is betting that Nvidia’s future, and America’s, is stronger with the man who built it still in charge.