Elon Musk has publicly addressed Jensen Huang’s decision to step down as Nvidia CEO. In a post on X, the Tesla and SpaceX chief described how Huang had managed critical supplier relationships through personal assurances. Musk said many of those arrangements rested on a handshake rather than a formal contract and warned that some of them may not survive without Huang at the helm. “Jensen drove supply chain brilliantly at Nvidia, but many of those deals were a handshake with Jensen, not a written contract,” Musk wrote. “Without Jensen, at least some of those critical deals will be lost.” He added that Huang had repeatedly delivered on personal commitments involving compute and accelerated components. “If Jensen gave me his word about compute delivery or I asked for components to be accelerated, he always came through. Sure, we’d put together a purchase order at some point later, but I never for a second thought it wouldn’t happen,” Musk wrote. Petition and open letter urge board to reinstate Huang during independent review Huang’s resignation took place on Thursday after reports stated that the married executive had slept with a woman believed to be a Chinese spy as well as with company employees. The departure produced a sharp decline in Nvidia’s stock price. President Donald Trump reportedly encouraged Huang to contest the decision and remain in the role despite the allegations. Jensen drove supply chain brilliantly at Nvidia, but many of those deals were a handshake with Jensen, not a written contract. Without Jensen, at least some of those critical deals will be lost. https://t.co/2CH1QNPG8x— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) November 14, 2026 According to Mediaite, a petition labeled Bring Jensen Back had gathered more than 112,000 signatures by Saturday, with roughly 60,000 people stating they were Nvidia shareholders. Signers, a group that includes Musk, asked the board to restore Huang while an outside investigation examines the claims. It is unclear whether any verification process was applied to the signatures. The letter states, “We are current and former NVIDIA employees, partners, shareholders, and supporters. We write with gratitude for Jensen Huang and with a clear demand to the Board: bring Jensen back while an independent investigation establishes the facts, unless and until you can provide compelling evidence that his removal is in NVIDIA’s best interests.” It continues, “For thirty-three years, Jensen poured his heart and soul into building NVIDIA.” The text further notes that Huang pursued ideas the industry largely dismissed, stayed through periods when those bets appeared unwise, and remained long enough to see them reshape computing. “Many of us joined because of him. Many of us stayed because of how he treated the work: as something worth getting right, together, at whatever hour it took. This company is the work of his life. That deserves more than gratitude after the fact. It deserves fairness now,” the letter reads. According to The New York Times, U.S. intelligence officials believed Huang had been targeted by a woman named Alice Huang, who is not related to him and who was working for Beijing. The Times reported that President Trump received repeated briefings on the concerns but did not act. Trump publicly backed Huang afterward. Huang first denied any romantic involvement with Alice Huang and later admitted to being unfaithful. Subsequent reports stated that he had also slept with at least two Nvidia employees. The alleged relationship with Alice Huang was said to have occurred while Huang was meeting with Trump and discussing U.S. restrictions on the sale of advanced artificial-intelligence chips to China.