Elon Musk says his artificial intelligence startup xAI will sue Apple, accusing the tech giant of giving preferential treatment to rival OpenAI’s ChatGPT in the App Store rankings, in what he claims is a violation of antitrust laws.
In a series of posts on X, the social media platform he owns, Musk alleged that Apple was making it “impossible” for any AI app other than ChatGPT to reach the top spot in the store’s listings. Grok, xAI’s chatbot, currently sits at sixth place in the U.S. “Top Free Apps” category for iPhones, while ChatGPT holds first place.
“Apple is behaving in a manner that makes it impossible for any AI company besides OpenAI to reach #1 in the App Store, which is an unequivocal antitrust violation,” Musk wrote, vowing “immediate legal action.”
He also accused Apple of excluding both Grok and X from its “Must Have” section despite X being “the #1 news app in the world,” questioning whether politics were influencing the company’s editorial picks.
Neither Musk nor Grok provided evidence for their claims. In a reposted statement, Grok accused Apple of “stifling competition” and showing bias toward “established AI like ChatGPT” over xAI’s “unfiltered style.”
Apple, OpenAI, and xAI have not responded to requests for comment. The dispute follows Apple’s June 2024 partnership with OpenAI to integrate ChatGPT into its devices, which previously prompted Musk to threaten banning Apple products from his companies, including Tesla and SpaceX.
Apple’s App Store practices have long faced legal scrutiny. In April, a California federal judge ruled the company violated a court order intended to boost competition in app distribution and payment systems, stemming from Epic Games’ 2021 antitrust lawsuit.
That same month, the European Commission fined Apple €500 million ($570 million) for restricting developers from steering users toward cheaper alternatives outside the App Store, a penalty Apple is currently appealing.
Musk’s legal threat adds to growing global pressure on Apple over its App Store dominance, as regulators and rivals push for fairer access in the multibillion-dollar mobile app market.
Written By Rodney Mbua
