Billionaire Elon Musk announced on Monday that his artificial intelligence startup, xAI, will sue Apple, accusing the tech giant of violating antitrust laws through its handling of App Store rankings.
In a post on X, Musk claimed Apple’s ranking practices make it “impossible for any AI company besides OpenAI to reach #1 in the App Store,” calling it “an unequivocal antitrust violation.” He added that xAI would take “immediate legal action.”
Apple has an ongoing partnership with OpenAI, integrating ChatGPT into iPhones, iPads, and Macs. Musk did not provide evidence to support his allegations, and Apple, OpenAI, and xAI have not commented on the matter.
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman responded on X, questioning Musk’s accusations. “This is a remarkable claim given what I have heard alleged that Elon does to manipulate X to benefit himself and his own companies,” Altman wrote.
Currently, OpenAI’s ChatGPT holds the top position in the U.S. App Store’s “Top Free Apps” category, while xAI’s Grok ranks fifth. Musk also criticized Apple for excluding both X and Grok from its “Must Have” section, suggesting political bias.
Community notes on X pointed out that other AI apps, such as China’s DeepSeek and Perplexity in India, have reached the top spot in the App Store this year, even after Apple’s partnership with OpenAI began.
The dispute comes amid increased global scrutiny of Apple’s App Store practices. Earlier this year, the EU fined Apple €500 million ($581 million), citing restrictions that prevented developers from steering users outside the App Store.
