Elon Musk wants Jensen Huang back in charge of Nvidia. The company’s internal rules give Musk no vote.
Huang resigned as CEO on November 12 while the board investigated his ties to a woman US officials link to Chinese intelligence. Nvidia shares closed that day 11% below their November 6 level.
Could Jensen Huang Come Back TO Nvidia?
Nvidia’s board would have to vote him back. Under the company’s bylaws, a majority of directors in office controls who holds executive posts.
After Huang’s resignation from Nvidia, that means six of the 10 remaining directors. Shareholders get no direct vote on the CEO.
Huang’s own shares cannot force a return. He controls about 3.58% of the votes, according to Nvidia’s 2026 proxy. BlackRock and Vanguard each hold more than 7%.
Musk has no seat on that board. Still, he publicly backed a comeback on Friday.
“A petition is underway to reinstate Jensen and I’m signing it too,” said Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla and SpaceX.
The nearest precedent is OpenAI in 2023. Its board rehired Sam Altman within days after about 97% of staff threatened to quit.
However, OpenAI was a private company. Most of the directors who removed Altman also left its board.
Inside Nvidia, an internal post urging Huang’s return drew more than 1,600 comments.
The Foreign Intelligence Probe Matters More Than Musk’s Petition
The board’s own investigation stands in the way. On November 8, directors began examining whether a foreign spy operation had targeted Huang.
They later hired law firm Wachtell Lipton, led by former acting US Attorney Joon H. Kim. Bloomberg reported that directors left Huang no option but to resign.
Washington is also involved. The House Foreign Affairs Committee wants Huang to appear on December 1 and has warned of a subpoena.
Sen. Elizabeth Warren said his exit does not clear him of responsibility. President Donald Trump, by contrast, has praised Huang publicly.
For shareholders, the outcome carries a price tag. Analyst Dan Ives values Nvidia at $300 a share with Huang and $225 without him.
Nvidia’s new interim CEO, Colette Kress, reports quarterly earnings on November 17. The decision on Huang now sits with directors weighing a founder’s pull against national security questions in Washington.
