The worlds richest man, Elon Musk has accused Apple of violating antitrust laws and threatened legal action over the way his X social media platform and Grok artificial intelligence tool are ranked in the iPhone maker’s App Store.
The billionaire claimed Apple’s policies make it “impossible” for any AI company other than OpenAI — led by Sam Altman — to secure top rankings, calling the practice “an unequivocal antitrust violation.”
Musk said his xAI business, which develops Grok and owns X, “will take immediate legal action.” He also alleged the App Store refused to feature X or Grok in its “Must Have” section.
Currently, OpenAI’s ChatGPT holds the top spot among free App Store downloads, while Grok ranks sixth.
Altman pushed back on Musk’s claims in a post on X, writing: “This is a remarkable claim given what I have heard alleged that Elon does to manipulate X to benefit himself and his own companies.”
The dispute adds to Musk’s ongoing public feuds — including clashes with Altman and former U.S. president Donald Trump. Musk co-founded OpenAI in 2015 but left in 2018, later becoming a frequent critic.
Apple is already under regulatory pressure over its App Store policies. Earlier this year, the European Union fined the company €500mn for antitrust violations, accusing it of blocking developers from directing users to offers outside its platform.
Both Grok and ChatGPT have recently released updated AI models, though some early adopters have expressed disappointment over the scale of improvements.
