Elon Musk has accused Apple of giving OpenAI an unfair advantage on the App Store, calling it an “unequivocal antitrust violation.” In a series of posts on X, Musk alleged that Apple’s editorial decisions and integration of OpenAI’s ChatGPT into its products create conditions that block other AI companies from reaching the top spot in App Store rankings. He also said xAI would take immediate legal action.
Musk’s Complaint
Musk’s comments come after xAI’s Grok 4, released last month, began climbing the App Store charts. The app jumped from around 60th place to 29th last week, according to App Figures. Earlier today, xAI made Grok 4 free for users worldwide, pushing it to fifth overall and second in the Productivity category. Despite this surge, ChatGPT has remained near the top of the charts for most of the past year.
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Apple has featured ChatGPT in App Store editorial content multiple times over the past year. It also partnered with OpenAI for the Apple Intelligence rollout, which includes direct Siri integration and Writing Tools support. Musk argues that these decisions have helped entrench ChatGPT’s position and sidelined competitors like Grok.
Public Criticism and Legal Threats
In another post hours before threatening legal action, Musk asked Apple why it refused to list either X or Grok in its “Must Have” section despite their high rankings in their respective categories. He accused Apple of “playing politics” and questioned why ChatGPT appeared “in every list where you have editorial control.”
Musk co-founded OpenAI but left early in its development. Earlier this year, he sued the company over its shift to a for-profit model. His current conflict with Apple appears to be part of a broader rivalry with OpenAI, with Apple’s integration of ChatGPT serving as a flashpoint.
Whether Musk follows through with his legal threat is unclear. He has made similar threats in the past without filing a case. As of now, Apple has not publicly responded to his accusations.
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