Fact Check: Was Jensen Huang reinstated as Nvidia CEO after Elon Musk's intervention?
SANTA CLARA, CALIFORNIA: Days after Jensen Huang resigned as CEO of Nvidia following a cheating scandal, a claim began circulating on social media that he was reinstated as the chipmaker's chief executive after Elon Musk intervened. The claim has triggered questions and speculation from online users, prompting a fact-check.
Claim: Jensen Huang reinstated as Nvidia CEO after Elon Musk's intervention
The claim appeared on X (formerly Twitter), according to which Huang has been reappointed CEO of Nvidia, and Musk is the reason for that.
The post has garnered hundreds of thousands of views as of this writing, with online users appearing to praise the Tesla CEO, suggesting that they believe the claim to be true. Meanwhile, a few others expressed skepticism and questioned the claim's authenticity.
The claim appeared amid Musk’s public support and petition to reinstate the 63-year-old after the company announced his resignation.
Fact Check: No credible evidence to support the claim
The claim, however, is false, as there is no credible evidence suggesting that Huang has been reinstated.
Although Musk has publicly supported an employee petition to reinstate him and praised Huang, there has been no reinstatement.
There are no official statements, announcements, press releases, or social media posts from Nvidia, Musk, or Huang about the reinstatement, which, if true, would not only go unreported, but would have made headlines.
A search on Google and other search engines for the claim also yielded no relevant news reports, except for the social media posts sharing the claim.
As of this writing, Colette Kress, who has been the Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer since 2013, has stepped into the role of Nvidia’s CEO.
Jensen Huang resigns as Nvidia CEO and president
In a press release issued on Thursday, November 12, Nvidia announced that Huang had resigned as the president and CEO with immediate effect, bringing his 33-year journey with the company he helped establish to an abrupt end.
The announcement focused on his legacy, crediting him with making a profound impact on Nvidia and the technology industry, instead of the reason for his sudden exit, and made no mention of the allegations linked to his personal relationships.
The resignation came following reports about his association with Alice Huang, a businesswoman suspected by US intelligence officials of having links to Chinese intelligence.
Nvidia’s board previously revealed that it had launched an independent investigation into reports suggesting Huang was the target of a foreign intelligence operation.
