Musk Says He Would Hire Huang as Nvidia's Board Weighs His Fate and the Scandal Shadows a Trump-Xi Summit

Elon Musk says he would hire Jensen Huang if Nvidia's board pushes him out, Business Insider reported Wednesday night, as directors of the world's most valuable chipmaker weighed the future of the man who co-founded it ^[1].

Nvidia's board is reportedly preparing to oust Huang after reports that he had two extramarital affairs, ABC News reported ^[2]. In its live coverage, The Guardian reported that the board was meeting to decide Huang's future, that Nvidia shares slid about 8 percent in after-hours trading, and that his departure would leave a leadership vacuum at the roughly $4 trillion company ^[3]. As of late Wednesday, none of the reports we reviewed said the board had made a decision ^[2][3].

Business Insider noted that Musk's offer echoed a Silicon Valley scandal from 2010 ^[1].

The suspected spy is in China

Bloomberg reported, citing sources, that the woman at the center of the scandal, whom U.S. officials suspect of working for Chinese intelligence, is in China ^[4].

A summit under a cloud

The scandal has now reached the highest level of diplomacy. Bloomberg reported that the spy allegations are reopening old rifts and putting the U.S.-China trade truce to the test as Chinese leader Xi Jinping welcomes President Trump for their third summit of the year, with the meetings going off script before they even get underway ^[5].

That matters for every American business that depends on Chinese markets or Chinese supply chains, and for the farmers and manufacturers who have counted on the trade truce holding.

Pressure from Washington

On Capitol Hill, the calls for Huang to step aside are growing louder. Sen. Kevin Cramer, a North Dakota Republican, said he feels "strongly" that Huang should resign, citing reports of an intimate relationship with an accused Chinese spy and a second relationship with an Nvidia executive who reported to him, The Hill reported ^[6].

Why it matters

A company that builds the chips powering America's artificial intelligence boom cannot have doubts hanging over who has had access to its secrets. That is why lawmakers in both parties are paying attention, and why the timing, with the president meeting China's leader, could hardly be worse.

Related Nvidia's Board Weighs Jensen Huang's Future as Shares Plunge and Washington Watches

Musk's offer is a reminder that talent finds a home in a free market. But Nvidia's directors answer to their shareholders, and many of those shareholders are ordinary Americans saving for retirement. Their job is to put the company's integrity and the country's security first.

What comes next

Watch for a statement from Nvidia's board, and for whether the scandal comes up directly in the Trump-Xi talks ^[3][5]. Regular trading on Thursday will give investors their first full-session verdict on the turmoil after the after-hours slide ^[3]. And watch Capitol Hill, where Cramer's call for a resignation may not be the last ^[6]. Our earlier report on the board meeting and the share plunge has the background on how the crisis began.