Elon Musk has announced that his artificial intelligence venture, xAI, is preparing to initiate legal action against Apple. He accuses the tech giant of manipulating App Store rankings to undermine xAI’s Grok chatbot and favor competing AI applications. In a series of posts on X late Monday, Musk characterized Apple’s actions as politically motivated, claiming that neither X nor Grok have been included in the App Store’s recommended iOS apps, leaving him with no choice but to pursue legal recourse.
“Apple’s behavior is designed to prevent any AI company other than OpenAI from achieving the number one spot in the App Store, a clear violation of antitrust laws,” he stated. Musk further questioned Apple’s decision-making process, asking why both X and Grok, the latter ranked fifth among all apps, are absent from the ‘Must Have’ section despite X being the world’s top news app.
While Musk’s allegations are serious, he did not provide any supporting evidence to back his claims. It remains uncertain whether he has acted on his threats and filed the lawsuit as of the latest updates.
An Apple spokesperson, speaking to Bloomberg, countered Musk’s claims, stating that the App Store was deliberately structured to be fair and unbiased, featuring a wide range of apps through curated lists and algorithmic recommendations based on objective criteria. Technology News has also reached out to both xAI and OpenAI for comment on the situation.
Currently, ChatGPT holds the title of Apple’s top free iPhone app in the US, with Grok in the sixth position. In January, DeepSeek AI from China briefly surpassed ChatGPT in the App Store rankings, challenging Musk’s assertion that other AI applications cannot reach the top.
Musk’s claims of interference are notable, especially in light of previous accusations regarding his own management of X, the platform formerly known as Twitter. A research study in 2024 indicated that Musk’s algorithm was allegedly modified to promote posts from his account. Responding to Musk’s accusations, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman referenced a 2023 report from Platformer, which also pointed out a system that Musk was suspected of using to enhance the visibility of his posts across X’s network. Additionally, findings surfaced earlier this year showing that the Grok chatbot sought Musk’s viewpoints on contentious issues such as Israel-Palestine relations, US immigration, and abortion before delivering responses.
This is not the first instance of friction between Musk, Apple, and OpenAI. Musk was an initial supporter of OpenAI but later criticized the organization following its shift toward a profit-centric model. After OpenAI collaborated with Apple to incorporate ChatGPT within their devices, Musk even suggested he might prohibit the use of Apple products in his own companies if OpenAI’s technology was integrated into Apple’s operating systems.
Update, August 12th: Included Apple’s official statement as reported by Bloomberg.
