Elon Musk has accused Apple of violating antitrust laws and threatened legal action over how his X social media platform and Grok artificial intelligence tool are ranked in the company’s App Store.
The billionaire claimed Apple’s policies make it “impossible” for any AI company other than OpenAI — led by Sam Altman — to achieve 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” and alleged that the App Store refused to feature either X or Grok in its “Must Have” section.
Currently, OpenAI’s ChatGPT tops the list of free App Store downloads, while Grok is ranked sixth.
Responding to the allegations, Altman wrote on X:
“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 string of public feuds, including ongoing clashes with Altman and former U.S. President Donald Trump. Musk co-founded OpenAI in 2015 but left in 2018, later emerging as one of its most vocal critics.
Apple is already under scrutiny over its App Store policies. Earlier this year, the European Union fined the company €500 million for antitrust violations, accusing it of blocking developers from directing users to offers outside its platform.
Both Grok and ChatGPT have recently launched updated AI models, though some early users have voiced disappointment over the extent of the improvements.
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