Musk threatens Apple lawsuit over Grok ranking, escalates OpenAI feud
Tech titan Elon Musk is once again poised for a high-stakes legal confrontation, this time aiming his ire at Apple over alleged antitrust violations concerning its App Store ranking system and its perceived favoritism towards OpenAI. In a series of fiery posts on his social media platform X on August 12, Musk declared that Apple’s actions constituted an “unequivocal antitrust violation,” vowing “immediate legal action” from his artificial intelligence startup, xAI, the developer of the Grok AI chatbot.
Musk’s core grievance stems from his belief that Apple is deliberately hindering Grok’s visibility and reach within the App Store, thereby granting an unfair advantage to OpenAI’s ChatGPT. He specifically questioned Apple’s refusal to feature either Grok or X in its coveted “Must Have” apps section, despite asserting that X is the “world’s #1 news app” and Grok ranks among the top five overall applications. As of August 12, while Grok hovered around the fifth or sixth spot among free apps and second in the productivity category on the US iOS App Store, OpenAI’s ChatGPT maintained the top position, notably being the sole AI chatbot included in Apple’s “Must-Have Apps” curated selection. Musk contends that this apparent curation bias stifles competition and prevents other AI companies from achieving prime rankings.
This latest spat intensifies an existing feud between Musk and both Apple and OpenAI. The backdrop for this conflict is Apple’s significant partnership with OpenAI, formalized in June 2024, to integrate ChatGPT directly into its core operating systems, including iOS, iPadOS, and macOS, enhancing features like Siri and Writing Tools. Musk has long been a vocal critic of OpenAI, a company he co-founded before departing in 2018 over disagreements regarding its direction and safety protocols. Last year, he even threatened to ban Apple devices across his companies, including Tesla and SpaceX, if the tech giant proceeded with OS-level integration of OpenAI’s technology, citing “unacceptable security violations.”
The allegations from xAI arrive at a time when Apple is already under intense global scrutiny for its App Store practices. The company has faced a barrage of antitrust lawsuits and regulatory actions worldwide, including a substantial €500 million fine from European Union regulators in April for preventing app makers from directing users to cheaper external payment options. Furthermore, a US federal judge recently allowed an antitrust lawsuit against Apple to proceed, alleging false advertising regarding delayed Apple Intelligence features, and the US Department of Justice has also sued the company for allegedly operating a monopoly with its iPhone ecosystem. These ongoing legal battles underscore a broader regulatory push to curb the market dominance of major tech platforms.
However, the narrative is not entirely one-sided. While Musk asserts that Apple’s actions create an “impossible” environment for non-OpenAI AI, the success of other AI applications like DeepSeek, a Chinese startup whose model soared to the #1 spot on the App Store’s Top Free Apps chart in January 2025, suggests that Apple’s ranking system can allow non-OpenAI AI applications to thrive. This could challenge Musk’s argument unless xAI provides concrete evidence of deliberate suppression of Grok, beyond its current numerical ranking. Moreover, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman swiftly retorted to Musk’s accusations, dismissing them as “remarkable” given what he alleged were Musk’s own tendencies to manipulate his platform X for personal gain and to disadvantage competitors.
Amidst this legal saber-rattling, xAI has been actively working to expand Grok’s reach. Recently, the company made its latest model, Grok 4, free for users worldwide for a limited period, and introduced new features like Grok Imagine, an AI video generation tool. This strategic push to increase adoption comes just as OpenAI also released its new model, GPT-5, further intensifying the competitive landscape in the burgeoning AI market. The impending legal battle, if it proceeds, promises to be a significant test of platform power and antitrust enforcement in the rapidly evolving AI industry.