Elon Musk has filed a lawsuit against Apple and OpenAI, alleging the companies “joined forces to ensure their continued dominance” and stifled competitors including his AI venture xAI. According to Deadline, the suit was lodged in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas and seeks unspecified “billions” in damages.
The complaint targets Apple–OpenAI integration
The filing asserts that Apple’s partnership to integrate OpenAI’s ChatGPT into iOS gives the firms an unfair advantage “in a world rapidly driven by the most powerful technology humanity has ever created.” The complaint contends Apple recognized it had fallen behind in AI and “decided to team up with OpenAI.” It characterizes OpenAI as “a monopolist in the market for generative AI chatbots.”
Musk’s complaint argues that, absent an “exclusive deal with OpenAI,” Apple would not refrain from more prominently featuring the X app and xAI’s Grok app in its App Store. He has claimed on X that Grok has received positive customer reviews but has not been mentioned in the App Store, and earlier wrote that Apple “makes it impossible for any AI company besides OpenAI to reach #1 in the App Store.”
Responses from Apple and OpenAI
Apple has recently maintained that the App Store is “designed to be fair and free of bias.” OpenAI described the suit as “consistent with Mr. Musk’s ongoing pattern of harassment.”
Musk’s xAI and the stakes outlined in the suit
Musk launched xAI in 2023 as a competitor to OpenAI, Meta Platforms and China’s DeepSeek. The suit positions the Apple–OpenAI tie-up as a threat to competition and innovation in AI, with Musk’s filing stating, “Apple knows it cannot escape the inevitable – at least not alone,” and alleging the partnership is “a desperate bid to protect its smartphone monopoly.”
Deadline reports that the complaint links Apple’s ChatGPT integration to alleged market impacts on discovery and ranking within the App Store, citing Grok’s treatment as an example. The case does not specify an exact damages figure, but seeks “billions.”
Musk’s companies have increasingly aligned around AI. He acquired Twitter in 2022, renamed it X, and has taken steps in recent months to bring it closer to xAI. Earlier this year, xAI acquired X in an intramural transaction valued at $33 billion, according to the report.
