OpenAI has accused Elon Musk’s artificial intelligence company of deliberately destroying evidence in an ongoing antitrust lawsuit tied to the rollout of ChatGPT on the iPhone. The dispute centers on claims that internal communications at Musk’s startup were intentionally erased at a time when the company knew legal action was coming. OpenAI argues that this conduct undermines the fairness of the case and leaves it at a clear disadvantage.
According to Bloomberg, OpenAI made the allegation in a court filing submitted on Monday. The filing claims that Elon Musk’s AI venture, xAI, directed employees to use “ephemeral messaging tools” that automatically delete messages after a set period. OpenAI said these tools were used even though xAI was under a legal duty to preserve records.
Claims of intentional evidence destruction
In the filing, OpenAI said communications covering “every aspect of xAI’s business” were routed through message systems designed to erase data. The company argued that “destroying evidence was the whole point” and said this practice placed OpenAI and other defendants at an “inequitable disadvantage.” OpenAI also noted that xAI has failed to turn over documents that would support its own claims in the lawsuit.
The filing states that Musk’s company has not produced “a single nonpublic document” related to its allegations. According to OpenAI, there are no emails, text messages, Signal messages, or internal chat records that explain how xAI was harmed or blocked from competing in the generative AI market.
Background of the lawsuit
The legal fight began in August when Musk’s social media company X and xAI sued OpenAI and Apple Inc.. The lawsuit claims Apple’s decision to integrate ChatGPT into iOS limits competition and hurts rival chatbots, including xAI’s Grok. The plaintiffs are seeking billions of dollars in damages.
OpenAI and Apple have denied those claims. However, a judge in Fort Worth ruled in November that the case can move forward in the US District Court, Northern District of Texas.
OpenAI is now asking the court to step in. It wants an order forcing employees at X and xAI to stop using disappearing message tools. The company also wants a neutral forensic inspector appointed to review what was deleted and decide what corrective steps are appropriate.
OpenAI has described Musk’s actions as a campaign of “lawfare,” pointing to his long-running conflict with CEO Sam Altman, with whom he co-founded OpenAI in 2015 before leaving the board in 2018. The case is formally listed as X Corp. v. Apple, and the dispute now hinges not just on competition claims, but on whether key evidence was erased before the court could see it.
