Jensen Huang is Available. Still Interested, Elon?

On Wednesday night in the US, the financial news account ZeroHedge urged Elon Musk to hire Jensen Huang. “That would be an honor,” Musk replied on X. It was a generous thing to say while Huang still had a job.

By Thursday morning, November 12, Huang had resigned, Nvidia had named its finance chief Colette Kress interim CEO, and Musk was one follow-up question away from a very expensive tweet. As of Thursday, no offer had been made public.

Somebody would have to write a job ad first. “Experience with Nvidia preferred” feels a little coy. “Ability to manage a key supplier” gets closer, though the candidate has spent most of his working life getting people like Musk to spend more with that supplier. I’d like to see the recruiter explain that this time he’ll be measured on whether he can talk his new boss out of it.

At the interview, I’d give Huang the chip bill and a red pen. Then I’d ask him, “Which of these can we stop buying from Nvidia?”

I’d give Nvidia a chair, too. It supplies the chips and has invested in the business. It would be rude to make it wait in reception.

Nvidia says the original Colossus, xAI’s supercomputer in Memphis, ran on 100,000 of its chips. In January 2026, Nvidia put money into xAI’s $20 billion funding round. SpaceX bought xAI the following month. When Musk gets to the part of the interview where he asks for a reference from Huang’s last employer, he can call the number at the bottom of the invoice. They’ll know who he is.

The reference form usually has a box asking whether the previous employer would hire the candidate again. For this one I’d add a box asking whether it would still give the new employer a good price. That answer might be worth more to Musk than anything Nvidia has to say about Huang’s timekeeping.

I’d give Huang one job on his first day. Find something the chatbot does every day and see if it can do it just as well on somebody else’s cheaper chips. If it works, I’d let Musk call Nvidia with the good news. He can explain why he hired its founder to save money on its products.

The salary conversation deserves its own meeting.

Musk could offer Huang a bonus for every dollar he saves on chips. A sensible candidate would ask how the bonus is calculated. Does it count if he gets Nvidia to knock a few dollars off, or does he have to get Musk to order from somebody else? At that point I’d ask the person from Nvidia to step outside. It’s hard to negotiate a discount with the supplier taking minutes. On second thought, let him stay. He’s the only one in the room who came with a price list.

Before any of this, Huang should get to interview Musk. I’d leave “Why do you want to work here?” on the interview sheet just to see who answers first. Musk has to explain to a man who ran Nvidia for 33 years why he might enjoy having a boss again. He could start by spelling out what “reports to Elon” means for a man who might prefer to be asleep when a purchase order needs discussing.

Huang should ask about the purchasing budget while he’s at it. If he recommends a rival’s chips, will Musk actually let him buy them? I’d get that answer in writing. A reply on X is how we got here.

There’s a serious question about timing. Nvidia opened an independent inquiry on November 8 after reports that Huang had been targeted by a foreign intelligence effort. The board said at the time it had no reason to believe US national security or company secrets had been compromised. Beijing rejected the spying allegations. Three House committee chairs requested a closed-door briefing with Huang for November 18. Musk would want answers before putting him in charge of sensitive work.

I’d keep the interview short. Slide the bill across the table and see what Huang does. If he starts crossing things out, Musk may have found his man. If he asks for the Nvidia account manager, the meeting can still go down as a sales call.

(Disclaimer: The interview is imaginary. If an invoice turns up, please send it to the man who said it would be an honour)