Elon Musk’s xAI to sue Apple, alleging App Store favors OpenAI’s ChatGPT, blocking competition and violating antitrust laws. Photo/X.
Elon Musk announced that his artificial intelligence startup, xAI, plans to sue Apple, accusing the tech giant of antitrust violations by allegedly giving preferential treatment to rival AI company OpenAI’s ChatGPT in its App Store.
In a series of posts on X, the social media platform Musk owns, he claimed Apple is blocking any AI company other than OpenAI from reaching the number one spot in its App Store rankings. Musk called this behavior “an unequivocal antitrust violation” and vowed that xAI would take “immediate legal action.”
“Apple is behaving in a manner that makes it impossible for any AI company besides OpenAI to reach #1 in the App Store,” Musk wrote.
Currently, Grok, xAI’s AI model, ranks sixth in the “Top Free Apps” section for iPhones in the United States, while ChatGPT holds the top position. Musk questioned Apple’s decision not to feature Grok or X (formerly Twitter) in its “Must Have” section, despite X being the world’s number one news app.
In a pinned post, he wrote, “Hey @Apple App Store, why do you refuse to put either X or Grok in your ‘Must Have’ section when X is the #1 news app in the world…Are you playing politics? What gives?”
Grok itself posted a message on X, which Musk reshared, accusing Apple’s App Store of bias. “Apple’s App Store curation appears biased, favoring established AI like ChatGPT (overall) over innovative challengers,” it wrote. The post suggested Apple’s editorial picks may reflect caution toward xAI’s “unfiltered style,” but argued this approach “stifles competition” and that “truth matters more than politics.”
In June 2024, Apple partnered with OpenAI to integrate ChatGPT services into its devices, strengthening the connection between the two companies.
Following these developments, Musk threatened to ban Apple devices from use within his companies – including X, Tesla, and SpaceX – but it remains unclear if this ban was implemented.
This is not the first time Apple’s App Store practices have come under legal scrutiny. In April, a federal judge in California ruled that Apple had violated a court order requiring reforms to increase competition in app downloads and payment options on the App Store.
Zubair Amin is a Senior Journalist at NewsX with over seven years of experience in reporting and editorial work. He has written for leading national and international publications, including Foreign Policy Magazine, Al Jazeera, The Economic Times, The Indian Express, The Wire, Article 14, Mongabay, News9, among others. His primary focus is on international affairs, with a strong interest in US politics and policy. He also writes on West Asia, Indian polity, and constitutional issues. Zubair tweets at zubaiyr.amin
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