Musk, Nvidia employees push for Jensen Huang’s return, but odds sit at only 9%

Calls for Jensen Huang to return to Nvidia are gaining support, including from Elon Musk. “A petition is underway to reinstate Jensen and I’m signing it too,” said the Tesla and SpaceX chief executive on Nov. 13.

“Jensen drove supply chain brilliantly at Nvidia, but many of those deals were a handshake with Jensen, not a written contract,” Musk wrote on social media. “Without Jensen, at least some of those critical deals will be lost.”

However, as of now, prediction market traders are not optimistic. Odds of Huang returning as Nvidia CEO stand at 9%, a three-percentage-point increase in the last 24 hours, placing him in fourth in Kalshi’s event contract for who will be the next CEO of Nvidia.

^{For informational purposes only. Not trading advice. See full disclaimer below.}

Musk’s support comes after Wired reported that Nvidia employees are urging the company’s board to bring back its resigned CEO, despite his affairs with two employees and close relationship with an alleged Chinese spy.

“An internal ‘suggestion box’ post submitted before Huang’s resignation by a longtime engineer at Nvidia urged the company’s board to take employee sentiment into consideration prior to taking any action,” Wired wrote on Nov. 12. “The submission has attracted more than 1,600 comments since then, with several asking board members to find a way to bring back Huang.”

Huang resigned on Nov. 12 amid revelations of his extramarital affairs, one with a Chinese executive who worked with China’s top spy agency. His affair with Alice Huang, not related to the former Nvidia CEO, reportedly helped China circumvent U.S.-imposed restrictions on Nvidia’s advanced artificial intelligence chips.

President Donald Trump voiced uncertainty about whether Alice Huang was a Chinese intelligence asset. “The big thing is, was the woman a spy, and I don't know if that's been determined yet,” Trump told Stephen A. Smith in a Nov. 12 interview. “But if the woman was a spy, yes. If the woman was not a spy, perhaps it would be different.”

Nvidia CFO Colette Kress is acting as interim CEO and sits third with an 11% chance to lead the company permanently. However, Huang had criticized Kress in an August 2026 meeting before his resignation, according to The Wall Street Journal.

“Colette Kress was ‘a deer in the headlights,’ he said, interrupting her presentation, according to a person familiar with the comments,” The Journal reported. “Kress was a ‘reporting CFO,’ not someone who could help him define a strategy or make decisions, Huang said during the August meeting.”

Ian Buck, Nvidia’s vice president of hyperscale and high-performance computing, sits in second place after his chances dropped to 16% from nearly 27% on Nov. 13. Meanwhile, Rene Haas now leads at 26%, a four-percentage-point increase in the last 24 hours. Haas was previously Nvidia’s vice president of computing products between 2006 and 2013 before his CEO role at chip design business Arm Holdings.

Altimeter Capital Management CEO Brad Gerstner urged Nvidia’s board to avoid a rush to replace Huang in a letter sent on Nov. 13. “We believe it is in the best interest of all stakeholders, and certainly the shareholders of Nvidia, for the Board to pursue a slow, measured, and deliberate process regarding the future leadership of Nvidia that leaves all options on the table, including the potential return of Jensen Huang.”

Kalshi traders do not expect Nvidia’s board to make a decision until 2027, giving a 14% chance the board announces its next permanent CEO before Dec. 16 and a 25% chance prior to Jan. 1. Odds of an announcement before Feb. 1 are slightly better than a coin flip at 54%, a decrease from 63% a day before, according to Kalshi’s event contract on when a decision will be made.

Kalshi markets now predict:

Follow Sage D. Young on X: @httpsageyd
Follow Kalshi on X: @Kalshi | Image Source: Heather Diehl

^{The opinions and perspectives presented in this article belong solely to the author. This is not financial advice and does not constitute an offer, solicitation, or recommendation to trade any specific product. Information is provided for convenience only on an "AS IS" basis. Past performance is not necessarily indicative of future results. 18+ only. Restrictions and eligibility requirements apply. Trading event contracts and trading leveraged products, including perpetual futures, involves significant risk and is not appropriate for everyone. Please carefully consider if it is appropriate for you in light of your personal financial circumstances. Kalshi products are not available in all jurisdictions. See kalshi.com/regulatory for more information. Kalshi is subject to U.S. regulatory oversight by the CFTC.}