Musk says it would be an 'honor' to hire Nvidia's Jensen Huang
Elon Musk said hiring Jensen Huang "would be an honor" as Nvidia's board met to discuss the CEO's future and the shares swung sharply after hours.
What Musk said
Elon Musk said it would be an honor to hire Jensen Huang, the chief executive of Nvidia, as the chipmaker's board prepared to discuss Huang's future. Late on Wednesday, the financial blog Zerohedge posted on X, "Elon please hire Jensen." Musk replied: "That would be an honor."
The exchange came as The Wall Street Journal reported that Nvidia's board was preparing to meet as soon as Wednesday to discuss Huang's future at the company, after reports that directors were preparing to remove him. Nvidia did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Elon please hire Jensen.
Elon Musk @elonmusk · CEO, Tesla and SpaceXThat would be an honor.
A sharp swing in the shares
Nvidia closed the regular session on Wednesday, November 11, up 2.87% at $173.73, a gain of $4.84. After the reports, the shares fell more than 8% in after-hours trading.
The move followed a New York Times report that Huang had an extramarital relationship with another Nvidia executive, and reports of a second affair. Huang has acknowledged an affair with Alice Huang, a business executive whom U.S. intelligence identified as recruited by China's Ministry of State Security. The two are not related, and it remains unclear whether any sensitive information was shared.
- Nvidia close, Nov 11$173.73, up $4.84
- Regular-session gain+2.87%
- After-hours moveDown more than 8%
- Nvidia employees42,000
Pressure from Washington
Several lawmakers have called for Huang to step down. Senator Kevin Cramer of North Dakota, a member of the Senate Banking Committee, repeated his call on Wednesday, telling CNBC: "As a matter of his own conscience, he should resign."
Representative Suhas Subramanyam of Virginia, a member of the House Oversight Committee, and Representative Don Bacon of Nebraska, who is retiring from Congress, have also called for his resignation.
What investors are weighing
Analysts note the board faces a difficult choice because Nvidia has no public succession plan. Gil Luria of D.A. Davidson said removing Huang immediately could be challenging for that reason, adding that investors would expect the board to live up to its fiduciary responsibility.
Bruce Zaro of Granite Wealth Management pointed to the scale of the task, noting that Nvidia has 42,000 employees and asking whether someone could step up as the ambassador Huang has been with data-center customers. Investors were left waiting for word from the board.
