Musk says hiring Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang would be an honor as board weighs his future

Board review after personal revelations

Nvidia's board is weighing the future of Jensen Huang, the company's founder and chief executive, after several personal relationships came to light. Huang admitted an affair on Sunday, 8 November, and apologised to his wife and son, according to Spanish press reports. The affair was with a woman whom US agencies reportedly identified as recruited by China's Ministry of State Security to gather information about Huang. The New York Times separately reported a relationship with Kimberly Powell, a senior executive who has led Nvidia's health division since 2017 and is one of about 60 executives who report to Huang. El País reports that the board has also launched an independent investigation.

Possible removal and market reaction

According to the Wall Street Journal, cited by Spider's Web, the board may decide Huang's future and is considering his departure from the role. Bloomberg reports that Nvidia's leadership is meeting urgently to assess the company's future without its founder, and that it has already hired an outside firm to identify possible successors. Nvidia shares fell by up to 10% in after-hours trading after Wall Street closed on Wednesday, 11 November. El País says the uncertainty has also spread to financial markets.

Musk's reply on X

Elon Musk responded on X to a post urging him to hire Huang if Nvidia's board decides to let him go, saying it would be an honor. Spider's Web attributes the post to the ZeroHedge blog, while Europa Press describes it as a user's post. Musk's reply came shortly after the Wall Street Journal report, Spider's Web noted. Musk did not say what role Huang might hold or whether the two men had held any talks. Europa Press reports that the two have maintained a close relationship for at least a decade, and that both accompanied Donald Trump on his official visit to China earlier this year.

Tesla's reliance on Nvidia

Nvidia is the main supplier of the graphics processing units Tesla uses to train AI models for autonomous driving and robotics, according to Bloomberg. El País reports that Nvidia took part in funding rounds for xAI, Musk's AI company, which was integrated into SpaceX earlier this year, and that Nvidia remains a shareholder. In August, Musk said Nvidia would become the exclusive supplier of AI chips for SpaceX's space data centres, El País reports. Spider's Web adds that Nvidia also provides computing for Tesla's driver-assistance systems, although Tesla develops some chips of its own.

What is still unknown

The articles do not report a final decision by Nvidia's board, the outcome of the independent investigation, or any named successor. They also do not say whether Musk's offer was linked to any actual discussions between the two men.