Elon Musk’s xAI Files Antitrust Lawsuit Against Apple and OpenAI

Elon Musk-owned companies X and xAI reportedly sued Apple and OpenAI, alleging that they operate an “anticompetitive scheme” in which Apple favors OpenAI and deprioritizes the artificial intelligence startup’s competitors in its App Store rankings.

The lawsuit also alleges that Apple favors OpenAI by integrating that company’s chatbot, ChatGPT, into Apple products, CNBC reported Monday (Aug. 25).

The Musk-owned companies’ complaint said, according to the report: “In a desperate bid to protect its smartphone monopoly, Apple has joined forces with the company that most benefits from inhibiting competition and innovation in AI: OpenAI, a monopolist in the market for generative AI chatbots.”

An OpenAI spokesperson told CNBC, per the report: “This latest filing is consistent with Mr. Musk’s ongoing pattern of harassment.”

OpenAI is suing Musk for allegedly harassing the company in public remarks, social media posts, legal actions and a “sham bid” to acquire its assets.

Apple did not immediately respond to CNBC’s request for comment on the Musk companies’ lawsuit, per the report, and did not respond to PYMNTS’ request for comment.

According to the CNBC report, an Apple spokesperson said earlier that the company’s App Store is designed to be “fair and free of bias.”

The Wall Street Journal also reported on the lawsuit Monday, saying that the complaint focuses on Apple’s role as a delivery mechanism for AI models and appears to be modeled on the Department of Justice’s antitrust case against Google.

In that case, a judge found that Google’s control of distribution through Apple’s iPhones contributed to its illegal monopoly in the search results market, according to the report.

Musk threatened in August to sue Apple over the way the company ranks AI firms in its App Store, saying in an Aug. 11 post on social platform X: “Apple is behaving in a manner that makes it impossible for any AI company besides OpenAI to reach #1 in the App Store, which is an unequivocal antitrust violation.”

In an earlier post on the same day, Musk wrote: “Hey @Apple App Store, why do you refuse to put either X or Grok in your ‘Must Have’ section when X is the #1 news app in the world… Are you playing politics? What gives?”

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