Elon Musk’s xAI Takes Legal Action Against Apple and OpenAI Regarding App Store Rankings

xAI, founded by Elon Musk, initiated legal action against Apple and OpenAI on Monday, alleging that these companies are acting as monopolies and asserting that Apple has sidelined competitors like Grok in the App Store.

“This situation exemplifies a collaboration between two monopolistic entities to sustain their control over a rapidly evolving domain: artificial intelligence,” the legal complaint states. “Together, Defendants Apple and OpenAI have monopolized markets to safeguard their dominance and obstruct innovators like X and xAI from entering the arena.”

Grok ranks third among free productivity apps in the App Store, following only ChatGPT and Gmail. This “uncensored” chatbot is also integrated with Musk’s platform X, known for being the top free news app in the App Store.

The lawsuit specifically criticizes Apple’s incorporation of ChatGPT into the iOS operating system last year. “This implies that iPhone users are compelled to utilize ChatGPT for critical tasks on their devices, leaving no option for those interested in exploring more innovative alternatives like xAI’s Grok,” the lawsuit asserts. Although Apple has not disclosed plans for other chatbot integrations, the OpenAI collaboration was not initially labeled as exclusive. There are no restrictions in Apple’s operating system preventing iPhone users from accessing chatbots like Grok.

“This recent filing aligns with Mr. Musk’s ongoing pattern of harassment,” remarked Kayla Wood, a spokesperson for OpenAI, in a statement to WIRED. Apple did not provide an immediate response to a request for comment.

xAI argues that the purported collusion results in diminished choices for consumers. “These market impacts—reduced competition, insufficient scale to compete, lower investment, and stifled innovation—ultimately disadvantage consumers by leading to subpar quality, fewer options, and increased prices than would occur in a world absent the Defendants’ anti-competitive actions,” the lawsuit explains.

Musk was a founding member of OpenAI before departing in 2018, subsequently establishing xAI as a rival AI company. A request for a comment on the lawsuit sent to xAI’s press contact was returned undeliverable.

During a dinner in San Francisco earlier this month, a journalist inquired of OpenAI CEO Sam Altman about the company’s relationship with Apple: “Perhaps they’ve concluded that catching up on models is unfeasible—there’s adequate competition. Do you seek to be their primary partner?”

Altman did not respond directly. “Apple’s my favorite tech company that is not OpenAI,” he stated. OpenAI is collaborating with renowned former Apple designer Jony Ive on an AI hardware project. Altman described this product as a “new computing paradigm,” though he refrained from revealing further details.

This is not Musk’s first legal dispute with OpenAI. In 2024, he filed a complaint against the company, claiming it had deviated from its founding mission of developing AI for the benefit of humanity by shifting towards a profit-driven framework. Originally designed as a nonprofit, the organization later established a for-profit subsidiary for fundraising. It is currently transitioning that subsidiary into a public benefit corporation, a critical move for securing billions in funding from SoftBank.