On November 13, billionaire Elon Musk took to social media platform X to announce his support for a petition encouraging the return of Jensen Huang to Nvidia, a company he co-founded and led for many years.
Nvidia, a prominent chip manufacturer, found itself under scrutiny after it was revealed that the company had been allowed to export banned chips to an entity called Megaspeed, which has ties to Chinese businesswoman Huang Le. Reports from U.S. media outlets suggest that Huang Le may have connections to spurious activities involving Huang and that she has affiliations with Chinese Communist Party intelligence agencies.
Under mounting pressure from various stakeholders, Nvidia announced the resignation of Jensen Huang on November 12.
On the same day, U.S. Attorney General Todd Blanche commented that the Department of Justice has not yet reached a conclusion regarding Huang Le’s potential status as a Chinese spy linked to Jensen Huang.
In the wake of Huang’s resignation, there has been a growing chorus of calls from within Nvidia for his reinstatement. This unfolding drama concerning the company’s leadership and the departure of its founder has attracted considerable attention from the technology sector.
In a response to a discussion about Nvidia employees advocating for Huang’s return, Musk stated, “A petition is underway to bring Jensen Huang back, and I will sign it.”
Musk and Huang have had a collaborative relationship for nearly a decade. From the moment Huang personally delivered the world’s first DGX-1 supercomputer to Musk in 2016, to the customized DGX Spark supercomputer provided for SpaceX’s Starship in 2025, their bond has been significant.
According to Musk’s recollection, the DGX-1 supercomputer was valued at $129,000 at the time, when Musk was grappling with capacity challenges at Tesla, and Huang was just beginning to explore the vast potential of artificial intelligence (AI). Musk has consistently expressed gratitude for Huang’s generous donation during those struggling times.
In light of the controversies surrounding Huang’s resignation amid allegations of espionage, Musk expressed in a post that he would feel honored to employ Huang again if the opportunity arose.
Currently, numerous petitions supporting Huang’s return have surfaced online. A petition launched on Change.org on Thursday calls for the Nvidia board to restore Huang’s position as CEO.
Internally, the reaction at Nvidia seems to have been more intense. Communications obtained by Wired magazine reveal that prior to Huang’s resignation, a senior engineer used the company’s internal communication platform to advocate for the board to consider employee opinions before making a decision regarding Huang’s future.
This post attracted over 1,600 comments, with a significant majority of commenters urging for Huang to retain his leadership role, and some employees even directly requesting that the board reinstate him.
One employee commented, “If you believe in the company’s mission, bring the boss back.” Another stated, “Everyone makes mistakes; Huang has made tremendous contributions to the company and deserves a second chance.”
Additionally, an employee sent out an email to the entire company soliciting an explanation from the board regarding the reasons for Huang’s departure, reiterating continued support for him.
Within hours of Huang’s resignation, approximately 20 employees publicly expressed their support for him on LinkedIn. At this time, it remains unclear just how many employees are backing Huang’s return.