Elon Musk accused Apple on Monday of unfairly favoring OpenAI’s ChatGPT over his own AI chatbot, Grok, in the App Store, claiming that Apple’s policies “make it impossible for any AI company besides OpenAI to reach #1,” calling it an “unequivocal antitrust violation” and threatening immediate legal action.
Apple partnered with OpenAI in mid-2024 to integrate ChatGPT across its iPhone, iPad, and Mac devices. Altman fired back on Musk’s social platform X, accusing Musk of manipulating the X algorithm to benefit his own companies and harm rivals, referencing a 2023 report detailing how Musk prioritized his tweets on the platform. Altman said he welcomed legal discovery to expose Musk’s practices.
The feud spilled into early Tuesday, with Musk mocking Altman’s post views despite vastly more followers. Altman challenged Musk to sign an affidavit denying he ever directed algorithm changes to hurt competitors, promising a personal apology if true.
Musk left OpenAI’s board in 2018 amid concerns over AI risks, later suing to block OpenAI’s shift to a for-profit model—a move rejected by a federal judge. Musk formed xAI in 2023, merging it with X.
Apple faces ongoing regulatory pressure over App Store rules after a 2021 court ruling forced it to allow developers to bypass its in-app purchase system, which generates up to 30% of Apple’s gross sales.
