Billionaire Elon Musk is supporting a campaign to bring Jensen Huang back as Nvidia’s chief executive after Huang’s dramatic resignation amid allegations involving a Chinese spy and an extramarital affair.
“A petition is underway to reinstate Jensen and I’m signing it too,” Musk wrote to his 40 million followers on X, the social media platform he owns.
The endorsement from the world’s richest man gave the “Stand with Jensen” petition an immediate boost, generating 8 million views in a short time.
Huang resigned after acknowledging an affair with Alice Huang, an alleged Chinese intelligence operative who is not related to him.
His departure has also drawn scrutiny from lawmakers on key congressional committees, who are urging him to testify and demanding a review of the Trump administration’s decision to permit exports of certain advanced AI chips to China.
On Thursday, Musk said hiring the 63-year-old Huang—who helped transform Nvidia into the world’s second-largest company—would be “an honor.” Huang, like Musk, has developed a close relationship with President Trump.
The Tesla and SpaceX chief was responding to an X user who posted: “Elon please hire Jensen.”
However, the allegations surrounding Huang’s personal life were not the only factor behind the pressure on him to step down. A memo prepared by China hawk Secretary of State Marco Rubio also contributed to the campaign for his removal, The Washington Post reported.
According to a source cited by the newspaper, Rubio’s State Department prepared a memo outlining Huang’s relationship with Alice Huang and drawing on an earlier CIA report. Leaks about the alleged affair intensified calls for Huang’s resignation, removing a prominent advocate for allowing China to purchase sophisticated American-made AI chips.
Huang had gained unusually close access to Trump, traveling with the president aboard Air Force One during his May trip to China, attending meetings in the Oval Office and speaking with him by phone.
In May 2025, the Trump administration dismantled a Biden-era policy limiting exports of advanced AI chips. Officials argued that the rule had “stifled American innovation and saddled companies with burdensome new regulatory requirements.”