On November 14, 2026, a petition calling on Nvidia to reinstate Jensen Huang as chief executive passed 115,000 signatures, with nearly 6,000 current Nvidia employees and 63,000 shareholders among the signatories, and Tesla chief executive Elon Musk publicly backing it. The employee-led campaign has put the way Nvidia's board handled Huang's departure under a spotlight — and put new pressure on the AI chip giant's succession plans.
What the petition says, and who signed it
The petition, hosted on the Stand with Jensen website under the headline "Thirty-three years deserve an answer," says Huang was "removed without meaningful due process" and asks the board to bring him back while an independent investigation establishes the facts, while ensuring the investigation is fair and more information is shared with the public. "Jensen deserves due process, not mob justice," the petition reads. As of Saturday afternoon, the site listed 5,965 current employees, 1,108 former employees and 63,063 shareholders. Musk wrote on X on November 13 that a petition to reinstate Huang was under way and that he would sign it; Replit chief executive Amjad Masad, Epic Games chief executive Tim Sweeney and Y Combinator chief executive Garry Tan have also signed. The petition site notes, however, that signatories' names, affiliations and titles are self-reported and unverified, and the campaign has not been endorsed by Nvidia or by Huang himself.
The questions the board has not answered yet
Huang resigned as chief executive, president and director on November 12, ending a 33-year tenure. Four days earlier, he had admitted to an affair with a chip executive suspected by U.S. intelligence of being a Chinese spy, and he has agreed to testify before Congress. Nvidia has named chief financial officer Colette Kress as interim chief executive, the board has begun searching for a permanent successor, and it has appointed director Harvey Jones as the company's first chairman. After Huang's departure, governments across Asia responded one after another, with South Korea first confirming arrangements for 260,000 GPUs. TechCrunch noted that Nvidia's share price fell sharply through the week and that Huang's departure could leave a large gap in AI industry funding. The petition itself has no legal force, and Nvidia has not announced any decision to reinstate Huang: the signature count reflects a challenge from employees, shareholders and peers over due process — not a verdict on why he left. The Wall Street Journal has previously reported in detail on the direct reasons behind Huang's departure.
What to watch next
Three things matter next: whether the board responds to the petition, when the independent investigation publishes its conclusions, and how the search for a permanent chief executive progresses. The timetable for Huang's testimony before Congress is also worth watching — it would be the first public account from him since the turmoil began.
