Musk threatens Apple over App Store AI rankings, alleges antitrust violation
Elon Musk’s artificial intelligence venture, xAI, has declared its intent to take immediate legal action against Apple, accusing the tech giant of violating antitrust rules within its influential App Store. The billionaire entrepreneur alleges that Apple’s ranking system unfairly disadvantages his X social media platform and its Grok AI tool, making it “impossible” for any AI company other than the Sam Altman-led OpenAI to secure a top position.
Musk, in a series of posts on X late Monday, specifically claimed that Apple’s App Store “refuse[s] to put either X or Grok in your ‘Must Have’ section,” branding this an “unequivocal antitrust violation.” Currently, OpenAI’s ChatGPT holds the top spot as the most downloaded free app on the App Store, while Grok is ranked sixth.
The accusation quickly drew a response from OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, who dismissed Musk’s claims of Apple favoritism. In his own social media post, Altman stated, “This is a remarkable claim given what I have heard alleged that Elon does to manipulate X to benefit himself and his own companies.”
This latest broadside marks another public conflict for Musk, adding to a string of high-profile feuds. His relationship with Altman, in particular, has been long-running and contentious; Musk co-founded OpenAI but departed the company in 2018, and the two have since regularly exchanged barbs over their respective businesses on social media. More recently, Musk’s relationship with former US President Donald Trump also soured in June, following a public spat after Musk criticized Trump’s signature tax and spending bill.
The attack on Apple also comes at a time when US artificial intelligence companies are facing heightened scrutiny over the substantial returns on the billions of dollars invested in the industry in recent years. Both Grok and ChatGPT have recently rolled out updated versions of their large language models, the sophisticated AI systems that power them. However, some early users have expressed disappointment regarding the perceived scale and impact of these upgrades, suggesting the advancements haven’t met high expectations.
Apple itself is no stranger to regulatory pressure concerning its App Store. Earlier this year, the company was hit with a €500 million fine by the European Union for antitrust violations. Brussels ruled that Apple had prevented app developers from directing consumers to alternative offers outside of its own platform, a decision that also carried threats of escalating levies if the practices continued. Apple has been contacted for comment regarding Musk’s allegations.