Elon Musk has declared that his artificial intelligence startup, xAI, will take “immediate legal action” against Apple, accusing the tech giant of engaging in anticompetitive behavior by favoring OpenAI’s ChatGPT in its App Store rankings. The dispute, unfolding on Musk’s social media platform X, escalates long-simmering tensions between Musk, Apple, and OpenAI and could redefine how app marketplaces operate under regulatory scrutiny.
The Core Allegations
In posts late Monday, Musk claimed Apple makes it “impossible for any AI company besides OpenAI to reach #1 in the App Store,” calling it an “unequivocal antitrust violation”. He specifically criticized Apple’s refusal to include XAI’s chatbot Grok, ranked 5th in the U.S. App Store’s “Top Free Apps” or his social platform X in the “Must Have Apps” editorial section, despite X being “the #1 news app in the world”. ChatGPT, meanwhile, holds the top spot and is featured prominently in Apple’s curated lists. Musk provided no evidence beyond the rankings themselves but tied the issue to Apple’s partnership with OpenAI, which integrates ChatGPT deeply into iPhones, iPads, and Macs.
OpenAI CEO Fires Back
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman swiftly countered Musk’s claims, suggesting hypocrisy: “This is a remarkable claim given what I’ve heard alleged that Elon does to manipulate X to benefit himself and his own companies and harm his competitors and people he doesn’t like”. Altman stopped short of detailing these allegations but linked to an article about Musk’s purported algorithmic tinkering on X. He added that OpenAI would remain “focused on making great products”. The exchange underscores the bitter rivalry between the former OpenAI co-founders. Musk co-created the organization in 2015 but left in 2018 and is currently suing it, alleging abandonment of its nonprofit mission.
Apple’s Mounting Antitrust Pressure
Apple’s App Store policies face intensifying global scrutiny:
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In April, a U.S. judge ruled Apple violated an injunction to ease App Store restrictions, referring the company to prosecutors for potential contempt charges after a lawsuit by Epic Games.
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The European Union fined Apple €500 million ($570 million) in April for preventing app developers from directing users to cheaper payment options outside its ecosystem.
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The U.S. Department of Justice is pursuing a separate antitrust lawsuit against Apple’s “iPhone ecosystem monopoly”.
Legal experts note Musk’s case could hinge on proving Apple’s editorial choice, as the “Must Have” section is deliberately exclusionary. “Algorithmic rankings aren’t inherently anticompetitive, but curated promotions might be if proven biased,” says tech policy analyst Evelyn Reed.
Context: Musk vs. Apple, Round Three
This isn’t Musk’s first clash with Apple. In 2022, he accused Apple of censorship and threatening to remove X (then Twitter) from the App Store, later resolving the issue after a talk with CEO Tim Cook. He also previously blasted Apple’s 30% App Store fee as a “tax on the internet”. The current battle coincides with Grok’s recent ascent to 5th place after making its Grok-4 model free, a surge Musk framed as organic user demand.
The outcome could reshape app discoverability and partnerships. If Apple’s integration of ChatGPT as a default, OS-level feature is deemed to stifle rivals, it may force platform operators to redesign how they spotlight third-party apps. For now, neither Apple nor OpenAI has publicly addressed Musk’s latest claims. But with Musk vowing litigation, this feud is poised to test the boundaries of market fairness in the age of AI.
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