Elon Musk Challenges Apple's Alleged AI App Favoritism Sparks Legal Showdown

Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla and founder of xAI and SpaceX, recently expressed strong criticism towards Apple's App Store, accusing the tech giant of favoritism towards OpenAI. Musk claims that Apple's actions prevent any AI app, other than those from OpenAI, from reaching the top of the App Store rankings. He has described these actions as violations of antitrust laws and announced that xAI will take immediate legal action.

According to Musk, Apple's preferential treatment has made it nearly impossible for other AI applications to gain the coveted spotlight of global market attention, a key goal for AI app developers. In a pinned post on his X account (formerly Twitter), Musk questioned Apple's management, inquiring whether their lack of promotion for his AI applications played into politics.

The pointed remarks from Musk have ignited a significant controversy, highlighting one of the most prominent disputes since his public confrontation with former President Donald Trump back in June. Both had exchanged derogatory remarks about each other on their respective social media platforms.

Representatives from both Apple and OpenAI have yet to comment on Musk's accusations. The collaboration status between Apple and OpenAI is not entirely clear, but OpenAI’s ChatGPT ranks as the most downloaded free app in the U.S. iOS App Store, surpassing Musk's Grok AI.

Despite Musk’s allegations, OpenAI continues its momentum with the recent launch of its anticipated GPT-5 AI model. The model, lauded as a significant advancement, is seen as pivotal for the long-term sustainability of the AI boom. Following this, xAI announced Grok 4 would be available to global users with limited free access.

The strain between Musk and OpenAI's CEO, Sam Altman, stems from a longstanding rivalry that dates back to their collaboration a decade ago when they jointly established OpenAI. Discontent arose as they pursued different paths. Musk has pursued legal actions against OpenAI, criticizing the organization for prioritizing profit over its non-profit mission.

Following Musk’s allegations, Altman redirected the focus towards Musk's management of the social platform X, insinuating that Musk might have been strategizing to leverage it for his personal benefit. However, Altman emphasized that OpenAI remained committed to developing superior AI products.