Musk Says Nvidia Would Lose 'Critical' Deals Without Huang: Many Were 'a Handshake With Jensen, Not a Written Contract'

• Dispatched: Nov 14, 2026 · 15:38 ET (20:38 UTC)

One-sentence summary: Tesla and SpaceX chief executive Elon Musk said on Saturday on X that Nvidia would lose "critical" deals without its ousted chief executive Jensen Huang, arguing Huang drove the supply chain "brilliantly" and that many deals were "a handshake with Jensen, not a written contract" — putting the durability of Nvidia's customer commitments after the founder's exit directly in question.

Verification status: ✓ Reuters report of Musk's public post on X (direct quotation)

Core Facts & Consensus Delta:

Musk's post was published at 2026-11-14 09:49 ET / 14:49 UTC. Reuters quoted him as saying Nvidia would lose "critical" deals without Huang, that Huang drove the supply chain "brilliantly," and that many such deals were "a handshake with Jensen, not a written contract." Musk named no specific deal, customer or amount, and Reuters disclosed no further details; no official figures or contract details have been disclosed.

The context is Nvidia's leadership transition: Huang stepped down as chief executive on 2026-11-12, with chief financial officer Colette Kress serving as interim chief executive. The board said on 2026-11-13 that it had not yet selected a search firm and had not formally approached any successor candidate, calling speculation premature. The Financial Times separately reported the board had approached Arm chief executive Rene Haas about the succession; that report is single-source and not yet confirmed. Nvidia shares had fallen for a sixth straight week through Friday 2026-11-13, the longest weekly losing streak since 2012.

Supply-Chain & Market Read-Through: If some of Nvidia's major customer commitments were indeed personal, unwritten understandings with Huang, the successor's ability to carry them over will bear directly on Nvidia's accelerator shipment pace and order visibility — and, through it, on upstream HBM and memory suppliers (SK Hynix KRX: 000660, Samsung Electronics KRX: 005930, Micron MU, SanDisk SNDK), whose HBM capacity is largely sold out through 2027–2029 and for whom Nvidia is one of the core sources of HBM demand. SK Group signed a letter of intent with Nvidia in July 2026 worth more than $500 billion, covering data centres and next-generation chips; the continuity of that cooperation likewise depends on the new management's follow-through.

Musk is himself a major buyer and seller in this supply chain: Tesla and SpaceX are both large-scale compute purchasers, and Bloomberg has reported merger talks between SpaceX and Tesla are advancing, with an announcement possible as early as December 2026. Musk's remarks do not confirm any transaction, and no Nvidia customer has publicly announced changes to purchase plans.

Next Catalysts & Watchpoints:

• 2026-11-17 16:20 ET / 21:20 UTC: Nvidia reports third-quarter results, with a call at 17:00 ET / 22:00 UTC — management's comments on orders, contracted commitments and customer relationships will be the first hard checkpoint.
• 2026-12-01: Huang was scheduled to sit for a closed-door deposition before House committees; the written-confirmation deadline has passed, and any subpoena or confirmation remains to be verified.
• 2026-12-03: Huang and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick were scheduled to testify publicly before the Senate Banking Committee.

Sources:

• Reuters (via 93-5 The Lloyd) (Published: 2026-11-14 09:49 ET / 14:49 UTC)
• Seoul Economic Daily (Published: 2026-11-14; background on SK Group's letter of intent with Nvidia worth more than $500 billion)
• World Money Roadmap (Published: 2026-11-14; Nvidia's six-week losing streak, longest since 2012, and the 17 November earnings schedule, per CNBC)

Information only, not investment advice.