Elon Musk has accused Apple of unfairly promoting OpenAI within its App Store while suppressing rival artificial intelligence companies. The tech billionaire claimed the Cupertino-based giant prevents all AI firms except OpenAI from reaching top positions in the iPhone and iPad digital marketplace rankings.
“Apple is making it impossible for any AI company besides OpenAI to claim the top spot on the App Store,” Musk stated today on his social media platform X. “This represents a clear antitrust violation. xAI will pursue immediate legal action.”
The founder of xAI – developer of chatbot Grok and owner of X – raised concerns that Apple implements preferential treatment policies by failing to highlight competitors’ products.
Responding on X, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman called Musk’s claim “remarkable,” adding: “particularly given what I’ve heard about Elon manipulating X to benefit his own companies while harming competitors and people he dislikes.”
The Musk-Altman rivalry dates to their co-founding of OpenAI prior to Musk’s departure. Currently, OpenAI’s ChatGPT holds the position as the most-downloaded free iPhone app in the U.S., while Musk’s Grok ranks fifth.