A high-profile petition is circulating, backed by notable tech industry figures including Elon Musk, calling for the reinstatement of Jensen Huang as CEO of Nvidia. Huang resigned on Thursday, November 12, 2026, following reports of extramarital affairs, including one with a chip executive whom U.S. intelligence suspects of being a Chinese spy.
The petition, hosted on “standwithjensen.com,” has garnered over 115,000 signatures as of Saturday afternoon, November 14, 2026. Among the signatories are Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk, Replit CEO Amjad Masad, Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney, and Y Combinator CEO Garry Tan. The petition website also claims support from 5,965 current Nvidia employees, 1,108 former employees, and 63,063 shareholders.
Advocates for Huang’s return contend that he was “removed without meaningful due process” and are demanding his reinstatement while “an independent investigation establishes the facts.” The petition explicitly states, “Jensen deserves due process, not mob justice.” It also urges Nvidia’s board to ensure a fair investigation and provide greater public transparency.
Huang’s departure came days after he confessed in a letter to employees that he had been “unfaithful to [his] wife.” Reports also surfaced alleging multiple extramarital affairs, including one with another Nvidia executive. While a U.S. intelligence community investigation into a suspected Chinese spy connection to one of Huang’s affairs was reported, the alleged connection does not establish that Huang engaged in espionage. China’s Foreign Ministry has dismissed the “Chinese spy” allegation as baseless.
In the wake of Huang’s resignation, Nvidia’s board appointed Chief Financial Officer Colette Kress as interim CEO, initiating a search for a permanent replacement. The company’s official statement announcing Huang’s resignation did not mention the personal conduct revelations or the espionage allegations, instead commending his “profound” contributions to the company he co-founded.
The sudden leadership change has had a significant impact, with Nvidia’s stock price experiencing a sharp decline, wiping hundreds of billions from its market value. Internally, an appeal from a senior Nvidia engineer garnered over 1,600 comments, largely supporting Huang’s return, highlighting his pivotal role in establishing Nvidia’s leadership in AI. Major investors, including Altimeter Capital Management and Atreides Management, have also reportedly encouraged the board to keep “the potential return of Jensen Huang” as an option during their search.
Elon Musk publicly expressed his support on X on Friday, November 13, stating, “A petition is underway to reinstate Jensen and I’m signing it too.” He also suggested that without Huang, some “critical deals will be lost.”