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Elon Musk's artificial intelligence startup, xAI, has filed a lawsuit against Apple and OpenAI, accusing them of conspiring to restrict competition in the AI sector. The complaint, lodged Monday in federal court in Texas, claims Apple unfairly boosted OpenAI's ChatGPT while suppressing xAI's Grok app in the App Store rankings.
According to the filing, Apple's exclusive deal with OpenAI allows ChatGPT to be integrated directly into iPhones, iPads, and Macs, a move Musk says makes it "impossible" for rivals to compete fairly. "If not for Apple's partnership with OpenAI, Grok and the X app would be featured more prominently in the App Store," the lawsuit alleges. xAI is seeking billions of dollars in damages.
Apple did not immediately comment. OpenAI dismissed the claims, calling the suit "part of Mr. Musk's ongoing pattern of harassment."
Musk has been publicly threatening legal action against Apple for weeks, often posting on his social media platform X about Grok's App Store rankings. After celebrating early download numbers, Musk later accused Apple of committing "an unequivocal antitrust violation" by favoring ChatGPT.
Antitrust experts say the case could become a landmark in defining competition rules for the emerging AI market. Apple's dominance in smartphones, combined with OpenAI's access to billions of user queries through its integration, may strengthen xAI's claims of anti-competitive behavior.
Musk's history with OpenAI adds fuel to the dispute. He co-founded the company in 2015 but left in 2018 over disagreements about its direction. Last year, he sued OpenAI and its leadership, alleging they prioritized profit over the nonprofit mission originally agreed upon. The feud between Musk and OpenAI's CEO Sam Altman has since escalated into a very public rivalry.
xAI, launched less than two years ago, competes with OpenAI and other AI developers such as DeepSeek. Musk has tied Grok into Tesla vehicles and has promoted it heavily on X.
