Musk endorses purported move to reinstate Jensen Huang at Nvidia

Washington DC: Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk on Friday (local time) backed a purported petition seeking the reinstatement of Jensen Huang at Nvidia, expressing support for the former CEO days after his resignation amid controversy surrounding his alleged extramarital relationships.

"A petition is underway to reinstate Jensen, and I'm signing it too," Musk said in a reply to a user on X on Friday.

This comes after Huang resigned amid mounting scrutiny over reports of his alleged extramarital relationships, including one with a Chinese businesswoman suspected by some US intelligence officials of having links to Chinese intelligence services.


The controversy has drawn support for Huang from prominent figures, including US President Donald Trump and Musk, who has previously highlighted the importance of company founders and their contributions.

Musk, earlier, had also expressed willingness to work with Huang after a user suggested that he hire the Nvidia co-founder.

Responding to the post, Musk said, "That would be an honor."

The developments surrounding Huang have also taken a fresh turn following a report by Reuters that the former Nvidia CEO allegedly had an intimate relationship with a second company employee, citing two people familiar with the matter.

Earlier, The New York Times reported that Huang had an extramarital relationship with Kimberly Powell, Nvidia's vice president of healthcare, who reports to him. The newspaper, citing five people who worked at the company, reported that the two were captured on video behaving affectionately at a hotel in San Jose, California, during an Nvidia conference in March.

Powell joined Nvidia in 2008 and oversees programmes focused on applying the company's chip technology to higher education and healthcare, particularly medical imaging devices, according to the company's website.

The controversy initially intensified following reports of Huang's alleged relationship with Alice Huang, a Chinese businesswoman associated with Singapore-based data company Megaspeed International, one of Nvidia's major customers.

US intelligence officials reportedly suspect Alice Huang of having links to Chinese intelligence services, adding a national security dimension to the controversy.

The Wall Street Journal reported that Alice Huang was the woman referred to in a letter Jensen Huang sent to Nvidia employees, in which he acknowledged being unfaithful to his wife and apologised for violating her trust.

The latest revelations have added to questions surrounding the former CEO's personal conduct and leadership at the technology company.

Jensen Huang co-founded Nvidia in 1993 and led its transformation into one of the world's leading suppliers of artificial intelligence chips, becoming one of the most prominent figures in the global AI industry.

Musk's public endorsement of the purported reinstatement petition has now added another dimension to the controversy surrounding Huang's departure from the company.