A New Front in the AI War: Elon Musk Threatens Apple Lawsuit

The ongoing battle for AI supremacy has opened a new front, with Elon Musk threatening legal action against Apple. On behalf of his AI company, xAI, Musk has accused Apple of an “unequivocal antitrust violation” by allegedly favoring OpenAI in its App Store rankings. He questioned why his Grok app, which is ranked fifth, is not in the “Must Have” section while OpenAI’s ChatGPT holds the number one spot. This accusation has reignited a public feud with OpenAI CEO Sam Altman.
The public spat on X was a fiery exchange, with Altman responding to Musk’s claims by calling out the billionaire’s own alleged manipulation of X’s algorithm. This is the latest episode in a bitter rivalry that began when Musk, a co-founder of OpenAI, left the company in 2018. Since his departure, Musk has sued OpenAI twice, and Altman has publicly labeled him a jealous and resentful ex-partner.
Musk’s claim that Apple’s App Store is unfairly biased against competitors has been challenged by the platform’s own community notes. Users pointed out that other AI apps, such as DeepSeek and Perplexity, have also reached the number one spot in different App Store markets this year. This evidence undermines Musk’s assertion that the top ranking is exclusively for OpenAI. The situation became even more ironic when xAI’s own chatbot, Grok, when asked about the dispute, sided with Altman.
Musk’s legal threat comes at a time when Apple is under intense regulatory scrutiny. The company is facing a significant antitrust lawsuit from the US Department of Justice and was recently fined by the EU for its anti-steering policies. Musk’s public allegations add another high-profile challenge to Apple’s control over its App Store, further complicating the company’s legal battles.