Elon Musk’s AI venture xAI has filed a lawsuit against Apple and OpenAI, accusing the two companies of colluding in an “anticompetitive scheme” designed to block rivals in both the smartphone and generative AI markets. The lawsuit, lodged in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas, alleges Apple unfairly deprioritized competitors like xAI’s chatbot Grok in its App Store, while favoring OpenAI by deeply integrating ChatGPT into its ecosystem.
“In a desperate bid to protect its smartphone monopoly, Apple has joined forces with the company that most benefits from inhibiting competition and innovation in AI: OpenAI, a monopolist in the market for generative AI chatbots,” the complaint states.
Musk, who launched xAI in 2023 and later merged it with social network X in an all-stock deal, claims Apple’s App Store ranking system systematically suppresses “super apps” and chatbot competitors. The lawsuit follows Musk’s earlier public threat to sue Apple for “an unequivocal antitrust violation,” arguing on X that Apple “is behaving in a manner that makes it impossible for any AI company besides OpenAI to reach #1 in the App Store.”
OpenAI dismissed the suit, with a spokesperson saying, “This latest filing is consistent with Mr. Musk’s ongoing pattern of harassment.” Apple has yet to formally comment, though the company has previously insisted its App Store is “fair and free of bias,” highlighting that it features “thousands of apps” based on a variety of ranking signals.
Interestingly, some users on X pointed out via its Community Notes feature that rival AI apps such as DeepSeek and Perplexity had reached the top of App Store rankings even after Apple announced its OpenAI partnership, raising questions about Musk’s claims.
The legal battle further intensifies a long-running feud between Musk and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman. Musk co-founded OpenAI in 2015 but departed in 2018 following disagreements over the company’s trajectory. Last year, Musk also sued OpenAI and Altman, alleging they prioritized profit over their original nonprofit mission to develop AI “for the benefit of humanity broadly.” OpenAI, in turn, has counterclaimed, accusing Musk and xAI of “harassment” through litigation, online attacks, and even a “sham bid” to acquire OpenAI for $97.4 billion.
The latest lawsuit underscores the escalating power struggle among the biggest players in AI and Big Tech, with Musk positioning xAI as a challenger to both OpenAI’s dominance and Apple’s market influence.
