Billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk announced Monday that his artificial intelligence company xAI will take legal action against Apple, accusing the iPhone maker of violating antitrust laws by allegedly manipulating App Store rankings to benefit OpenAI’s ChatGPT over competing AI apps.
Musk claimed on his social media platform X that Apple’s practices make it “impossible for any AI company other than OpenAI to reach the #1 position” on the App Store calling it a “clear and blatant violation of antitrust law.” The tech mogul added, “xAI will be taking immediate legal action.”
Currently, ChatGPT holds the top spot in the U.S. App Store’s Top Free Apps section for iPhone, while xAI’s Grok ranks at #5, and Google’s Gemini chatbot sits at #57. According to Sensor Tower data, ChatGPT also dominates rankings on the Google Play Store.
Apple recently partnered with OpenAI to integrate ChatGPT directly into iPhones, iPads, and Macs, a move Musk suggests could be influencing App Store visibility.
In a separate post, Musk questioned Apple’s editorial choices:
“Hey @Apple App Store, why won’t you put X or Grok in your ‘Must Have’ section when X is the world’s #1 news app and Grok is the #5 app overall? Are you playing politics?”
The allegations surface as global regulators and competitors intensify scrutiny of Apple’s control over the App Store. In April, a U.S. judge ruled Apple violated a court order requiring it to allow more competition, referring the company for potential criminal contempt in a case brought by Fortnite creator Epic Games.
In the EU, Apple was fined €500 million ($587 million) earlier this year under Digital Markets Act (DMA) enforcement, after regulators found that Apple’s restrictions prevented developers from offering cheaper deals outside the App Store.
Musk’s upcoming lawsuit could add to the mounting legal and regulatory pressure facing Apple and reignite the debate over App Store monopoly power, AI competition, and tech industry antitrust enforcement.
