Musk Floats Hiring Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang After Board Report

By Olivia Hart

November 12, 2026: SpaceX CEO Elon Musk said he would hire Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang if the company’s board removes its longtime CEO. “That would be an honor,” Musk wrote on X on Wednesday evening, answering a ZeroHedge post that said, “Elon please hire Jensen.”

What does the Nvidia report say?

The Wall Street Journal reported that Nvidia’s board was preparing to oust Huang after revelations about two extramarital relationships. The report described preparations, not a completed dismissal, and Business Insider’s account provided no board vote, timetable or confirmation that Huang had been removed.

One relationship involved a woman whom U.S. intelligence officials suspect of spying for China, according to WSJ and The New York Times. Business Insider said it had not independently confirmed that allegation, and its account gave no further detail about the second relationship.

The distinction matters because Musk’s hypothetical job offer rests on a board action the source did not record as final. Takeaway: A reported plan to remove Huang was not the same as an announced ouster.

Does Musk’s post constitute a job offer?

Business Insider characterized Musk’s response as an expression of interest rather than a formal job offer. Musk did not identify a company, position, compensation package, reporting line or start date, and Business Insider’s account included no statement from Huang.

The post also did not say Huang had decided to leave Nvidia or that Nvidia’s board had completed its deliberations. The public exchange answered a request from a financial news account rather than Huang, the board or either company, leaving the proposed employment arrangement untested in practical terms.

Takeaway: Musk welcomed the possibility of hiring Huang but committed to no role or terms.

Why does the Oracle episode matter?

Business Insider compared Musk’s response with a 2010 episode involving Oracle cofounder Larry Ellison and Mark Hurd. Hewlett-Packard’s board had forced Hurd out after an investigation into allegations of sexual harassment and inaccurate expense reports. The board found no evidence of harassment, but it ousted Hurd over the expense-reporting issues.

Ellison publicly defended Hurd and then hired him as Oracle’s co-president just weeks later. Hurd eventually became Oracle’s co-CEO and died in 2019. The episode supplies a concrete precedent for a prominent technology executive recruiting another leader immediately after a forced departure.

The comparison does not establish that a similar departure is imminent at Nvidia. It also does not show that Musk had a job for Huang, negotiated terms or held discussions with him; the source reported only the public exchange and its historical analogy. Takeaway: The Oracle precedent makes Musk’s remark plausible, not operationally complete.

What makes Huang valuable to Musk?

Business Insider described Huang, who co-founded Nvidia in 1993, as one of the AI industry’s most influential figures. That was 33 years before Musk’s 2026 comment, a long association with the chipmaker at issue. The source said Nvidia’s chips power much of the AI boom.

Business Insider also said Musk’s companies are major users of AI computing technology and huge buyers of Nvidia GPUs. It therefore considered Huang’s expertise “incredibly valuable,” but the account did not quantify those purchases or translate the assessment into a role, compensation figure or recruiting timetable.

Business Insider’s rationale is straightforward, but it leaves an unanswered commercial question: whether Huang would join a Musk company and on what mandate. The source did not report any approach beyond Musk’s public reply to ZeroHedge. Takeaway: The business case for recruiting Huang is stronger than the evidence of an actual recruitment.

What would turn the post into a real move?

A confirmed Nvidia decision on Huang’s status and a disclosed appointment at a Musk company would turn the exchange into a personnel matter rather than a conditional gesture. Musk’s X post did neither, and Business Insider reported no formal negotiation or job offer.

The next test is therefore simple: action by the board and a stated role for Huang. Until both occur, the episode documents interest in one of AI computing’s central figures, not a completed deal. Takeaway: Only a board action and a disclosed hire would validate Musk’s claim.