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Elon Musk Backs Petition to Reinstate Jensen Huang as Nvidia CEO as Signatures Pass 130,000

An online petition urging Nvidia to reinstate Jensen Huang has passed 130,000 signatures, with Elon Musk and other technology executives among the signatories. The campaign asks Nvidia's board to bring Huang back while an independent investigation establishes the facts behind his resignation.

Nahid Joy

Nov 15, 2026 - 21:34

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Jensen Huang, Nvidia's former chief executive, wearing his signature black leather jacket on stage at an Nvidia event.

Elon Musk Backs Petition to Reinstate Jensen Huang as Nvidia CEO as Signatures Pass 130,000

An online petition calling on Nvidia to bring back its co-founder Jensen Huang has gathered more than 130,000 signatures, drawing support from Elon Musk and a growing list of technology executives who say the former chief executive deserves a fair hearing before his departure becomes final.

The campaign, hosted on a volunteer-run website called Stand with Jensen, asks Nvidia's board to reinstate Huang while an independent investigation establishes the facts behind his resignation. The board has not responded to the petition, and the letter itself carries no binding power over the company's leadership decisions.

A petition that keeps growing

TechCrunch reported on Saturday, November 14, that the petition had attracted more than 115,000 signatures, including 5,965 people identifying themselves as current Nvidia employees, 1,108 former employees and 63,063 shareholders. By Sunday morning, the campaign's live counter had climbed past 133,000 signatures, according to Moneycontrol, with 6,667 self-identified current employees, 1,251 former employees, 72,265 shareholders and 53,143 other supporters listed.

Those affiliations are self-reported by the signers and have not been independently verified, and the campaign itself notes that it is not endorsed by Nvidia or by Huang. Some names on the list may be duplicates or unverified, according to reports tracking the petition.

Musk and other tech leaders sign on

Tesla and SpaceX chief executive Elon Musk confirmed on Friday, November 13, that he had signed the petition, posting on X that "a petition is underway to reinstate Jensen and I'm signing it too." He also warned on Saturday that Nvidia would lose "critical" deals without Huang, saying the former chief executive had driven the company's supply chain "brilliantly" and that many such deals were "a handshake with Jensen, not a written contract," Reuters reported.

Other prominent signatories include Replit chief executive Amjad Masad, Epic Games chief executive Tim Sweeney and Y Combinator chief executive Garry Tan. Cohere chief executive Aidan Gomez, investor Gavin Baker of Atreides Management and Binance co-founder Yi He have also been named among the supporters.

What the open letter asks for

The letter says its signers are "concerned that Jensen was removed without meaningful due process" and demands that the board "bring him back while an independent investigation establishes the facts." It also calls on the board to ensure a fair investigation and to give the public more information.

"Jensen deserves due process, not mob justice," the petition says.

The letter sets out three demands: reinstate Huang, or give a specific, evidence-based reason why his absence serves Nvidia; run an independent investigation with a disclosed scope and timeline, giving Huang a fair chance to respond before any final decision; and publish an explanation of the board's findings. It stops short of calling Huang blameless, saying that "thirty-three years of leadership do not place anyone above accountability. But accountability requires evidence, a fair hearing, and a reasoned decision."

Why Huang left Nvidia

Huang resigned on Thursday, November 12, ending a 33-year tenure at the company he co-founded in 1993. Nvidia's securities filing states that the board accepted his resignation as president, chief executive and director on November 11.

His departure followed his admission of an affair with a chip executive suspected by United States intelligence to be a Chinese spy. Huang has agreed to testify before Congress about the matter, and Nvidia has appointed chief financial officer Colette Kress as interim chief executive while it searches for a permanent replacement. Longtime director Harvey Jones has become the company's first-ever board chair.

The petition is the latest public pressure on the board as Nvidia heads into a consequential week. The company reports its fiscal third-quarter results on Tuesday, November 17, its first scheduled earnings announcement since Huang's departure, and Kress is due to address employees at an all-hands meeting the following morning.