Would be an honour: Elon Musk ready to hire Jensen Huang if Nvidia fires him over affair

Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang is in the middle of one of the biggest scandals in the tech industry, with two reported affairs. One of which was with an alleged Chinese spy Alice Huang. But despite all of this, Huang has found an ally in tech trillionaire Elon Musk.

In Short

• Elon Musk says he’d be honoured to hire Jensen Huang
• Huang faces risk of getting ousted by Nvidia board
• Huang said to have had two affairs including one with alleged Chinese spy

Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang is having a rough week. After admitting his affair with alleged Chinese spy Alice Huang, things have only gotten worse for Jensen. Reports indicate that Nvidia may be planning to sack its founder CEO soon. But despite all of this, it appears that Elon Musk is ready to stand by his side.

On X, a user urged Elon Musk to hire Jensen Huang as the Nvidia chief faced career uncertainty. Musk, who runs several companies including SpaceX and Tesla, promptly gave his nod of approval. “That would be an honour,” he replied.

This is not the first time that Elon Musk came out in support of Jensen Huang. After Huang first accepted the affair in an internal memo to Nvidia employees, Musk supported a post which said Huang had done “something incredibly dumb” but had “no bad intention.” The post described Huang as “one of the greatest entrepreneurs of this generation” and “irreplaceable for America’s AI leadership”. Musk responded to that post, stating, “I agree.”

Elon Musk and Jensen Huang share a longstanding relationship. The two have worked together for years. Back in 2016 when Musk was still a part of OpenAI, he made the first purchase of Nvidia’s AI supercomputer, the Nvidia DGX-1. Jensen Huang personally delivered the first unit to Musk at OpenAI’s San Francisco office at the time.

Elon Musk is not alone. US President Donald Trump has also defended Jensen Huang so far. Earlier this week, Trump called the Nvidia CEO ““an honourable guy” who had “done an amazing job” for the US. “I just know he's a fine person.. I think so I haven't heard he's done anything wrong,” he added. It is said that Trump was aware of Huang’s relationship with Alice for nearly a year but did not take action.

Jensen Huang faces axe at Nvidia as second affair surfaces

It seems that Jensen Huang needs all the support he can get. While the Nvidia CEO publicly accepted his affair with Alice Huang, a relationship that rang alarm bells within US intelligence, the situation has escalated.

As per a report from New York Times, Jensen Huang was having an affair with Nvidia’s healthcare VP Kimberly Powell. It is said that the two were recorded while being “affectionate” at a San Jose hotel during a conference in March this year. Though the person who recorded the video was offered to sign a nondisclosure agreement.

This puts Jensen Huang at the centre of two extramarital affairs while being married to Lori Huang.

At the same time, Nvidia’s board is considering removing Huang as the company’s shares continue to decline. Bloomberg reported that Nvidia was working with an outside firm to identify possible successors. There is a chance that the company may name an interim CEO till a full-time successor is found.

Jensen Huang has not made any comment on the latest developments. His only public statement came in the memo to Nvidia employees, where he acknowledged that he was cheating on his wife. “I was unfaithful to my wife,” Huang wrote. “My actions hurt her and our children. There is no excuse for what I did. I am deeply sorry.” The Nvidia CEO did not name Alice Huang in the memo.

Nvidia is investigating Huang’s affair with Alice Huang and examining any national security risks. Meanwhile senior US House Republicans have sought a briefing from Huang. China has rejected the espionage allegations as “groundless speculation.”

- Ends