Musk, 100,000+ signers petition Nvidia to reinstate Jensen Huang as CEO

Elon Musk has added his name to a fast-growing online campaign urging Nvidia's board to reinstate co-founder Jensen Huang as chief executive, days after Huang resigned over an extramarital affair involving a woman U.S. intelligence officials reportedly suspect was recruited by China's top spy agency.

Musk announced his support in a Nov. 13 post on X. "A petition is underway to reinstate Jensen and I'm signing it too," he wrote. As of 10:30 a.m. ET on Nov. 14, the "Stand with Jensen" letter listed more than 100,000 names, including more than 5,000 people who say they currently work at Nvidia, according to a Yahoo Finance account of the campaign.

A sudden exit

Nvidia's board accepted Huang's resignation as president, chief executive and board member on Nov. 11, effective immediately, the company said in a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. The company announced the change publicly on Nov. 12.

Huang co-founded Nvidia in 1993 and led it for 33 years, building the chipmaker into one of the world's most valuable companies and the dominant supplier of processors for artificial intelligence.

The board named Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer Colette M. Kress, 59, as interim chief executive while it searches for a permanent replacement. Kress, CFO since 2013, will keep that role in the interim. Director Harvey C. Jones, 73, who has served on the board since 1993, was appointed its first-ever chair.

Support from inside and outside

Pressure to reverse the decision has come from within the company as well. An internal Nvidia suggestion-box post asking the board to weigh employee sentiment drew more than 1,600 comments, most of them favoring Huang's return, according to a report by WIRED cited by Interesting Engineering.

President Donald Trump has also praised Huang's leadership and questioned whether the espionage allegations warranted his departure, Interesting Engineering reported.

Huang has admitted to an affair but has not been charged with wrongdoing. Alice Huang, who is not related to him and formerly worked at Singapore-based Megaspeed, has also not been charged. Nvidia has not been accused of any wrongdoing.

The board has not indicated whether it will reconsider its decision. No timeline has been given for naming a permanent CEO.