San Francisco – Elon Musk has threatened to take “immediate” legal action against Apple over claims that the tech giant is unfairly favoring OpenAI in its App Store rankings.
In a series of posts on X, Musk alleged that Apple’s practices make it “impossible for any AI company besides OpenAI to reach #1” in the App Store, calling it “an unequivocal antitrust violation.” He questioned why Apple had excluded his social media platform X and AI chatbot Grok from its “Must-Have Apps” section despite their popularity.
Apple has not responded to requests for comment. Musk’s AI startup xAI recently saw Grok climb to fifth place among all free apps on the iOS store, surpassing Google, while OpenAI’s ChatGPT holds the top spot and is the only AI chatbot featured in Apple’s “Must-Have” list.
The dispute comes after Apple’s 2024 deal with OpenAI to integrate ChatGPT into its devices. Musk previously warned he would ban Apple products from his companies if such integration happened at the operating system level, citing security concerns.
Musk co-founded OpenAI in 2015 but left its board in 2018. He is now suing the Microsoft-backed company and CEO Sam Altman, alleging they strayed from their mission to develop AI for the benefit of humanity. In response to Musk’s latest claims, Altman posted on X that the accusation was “remarkable” given Musk’s own alleged actions to favor his companies.
Apple has faced other antitrust challenges, including a 2024 US Department of Justice lawsuit accusing it of running an iPhone monopoly.
