Musk threatens Apple with lawsuit over alleged App Store bias toward OpenAI

Elon Musk has accused Apple of violating antitrust laws and said he will sue the company over how his X social media platform and Grok artificial intelligence assistant are ranked in the iPhone maker’s App Store.

Musk alleged Apple makes it “impossible” for any AI company besides OpenAI, led by Sam Altman, to secure top billing in the store’s “Must Have” section, calling this “an unequivocal antitrust violation.” He said his xAI business, which develops Grok and took over X in March, would “take immediate legal action.”

In a series of posts on X late Monday, Musk claimed Apple refuses to feature X or Grok in the Must Have list, even as OpenAI’s ChatGPT tops the free app rankings and Grok sits in sixth place.

Altman fires back

Altman responded on X, calling Musk’s accusations “remarkable” and suggesting Musk manipulates X to benefit his own companies.

The exchange is the latest flare-up in a long-running feud between the two. Musk co-founded OpenAI in 2015 but left in 2018, and the pair have repeatedly clashed over each other’s ventures.

Part of broader disputes

The attack on Apple adds to Musk’s public conflicts with both Altman and U.S. President Donald Trump. Musk and Trump exchanged insults on social media in June after Musk criticised the president’s tax and spending package.

The spat also comes as U.S. AI firms face mounting scrutiny over returns on the billions invested in the sector. Both Grok and ChatGPT have recently rolled out updated large language models, though some users have been underwhelmed by the improvements.

Apple’s antitrust challenges

Apple is already under pressure from regulators over its App Store practices. Earlier this year, it was fined €500mn by the EU for antitrust violations, with Brussels ruling that it blocked developers from directing customers to offers outside its platform. The company also faces threats of escalating penalties if it fails to comply.

Musk’s legal threat could intensify the focus on Apple’s control over app distribution and its relationships with major AI developers at a time when regulators in the U.S. and Europe are already probing Big Tech’s market dominance.