Apple Faces Shareholder Lawsuit Over Alleged Overstatement of AI Progress

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Apple (AAPL.O) was sued on Friday by shareholders in a proposed securities fraud class action accusing the company of overstating its progress in integrating advanced artificial intelligence into its Siri voice assistant. The lawsuit claims this misrepresentation negatively impacted iPhone sales and Apple’s stock price.

The complaint covers shareholders who experienced significant losses, potentially amounting to hundreds of billions of dollars, over the year ending June 9, 2025. During that period, Apple introduced several product features and aesthetic upgrades but kept AI advancements modest.

Apple has not yet responded to requests for comment. The lawsuit names CEO Tim Cook, Chief Financial Officer Kevan Parekh, and former CFO Luca Maestri as defendants. The case was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California in San Francisco.

Shareholders, led by Eric Tucker, argue that at Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference in June 2024, the company implied that AI would play a major role in the iPhone 16. Apple launched “Apple Intelligence,” which was marketed as enhancing Siri’s power and user-friendliness. However, the plaintiffs contend that Apple did not have a functional prototype of AI-based Siri features and could not reasonably expect those features to be ready for the iPhone 16 launch.

The lawsuit states that the reality started to become apparent on March 7, 2025, when Apple announced delays to some Siri upgrades until 2026. This was further reinforced at the June 9 Worldwide Developers Conference when analysts expressed disappointment with Apple’s AI progress.

Since hitting a record high on December 26, 2024, Apple shares have fallen nearly 25%, erasing roughly $900 billion in market value.

The case is identified as Tucker v. Apple Inc et al, U.S. District Court, Northern District of California, No. 25-05197.

Tesla Invites Select Users to Texas Robotaxi Trial with Front Seat Safety Monitors

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Tesla (TSLA.O) has invited a small group of users to participate in a limited test of its robotaxi service in Austin, Texas, tentatively scheduled to begin this Sunday, according to social media posts and email screenshots. The invitations indicate that a Tesla employee will accompany riders in the front passenger seat during the trial.

This trial in Austin is a critical step for Tesla as the company faces challenges including declining car sales linked to CEO Elon Musk’s political stances. Tesla has increasingly shifted focus from producing affordable electric vehicles to advancing robotics and artificial intelligence, a strategy that underpins much of its market valuation.

Elon Musk has emphasized safety for the trial, stating that the vehicles will be monitored remotely by humans and expressing confidence in scaling the robotaxi service quickly. The initial deployment will involve about 10 Model Y SUVs equipped with Tesla’s full self-driving driver assistance software.

The rollout could be delayed, and operations may be limited or suspended in poor weather conditions. Riders must be at least 18 years old. Tesla’s cautious approach to the robotaxi launch drew approval from X.com user Omar Qazi (@WholeMarsBlog), who received an invitation and noted, “Tesla is rolling out the Robotaxi service extremely cautiously, which is good. Baby steps.” Musk responded, “Very much so.”

Despite the enthusiasm, commercializing autonomous vehicles remains costly and risky. Tesla, along with competitors like Alphabet’s Waymo (GOOGL.O) and Amazon’s Zoox (AMZN.O), has faced federal probes and recalls linked to crashes involving self-driving cars.

Experts have raised concerns about Tesla’s heavy reliance on cameras and AI, without backup sensors such as lidar or radar, warning that adverse weather like fog, heavy rain, or sun glare could compromise safety.

Recently, a group of Democratic lawmakers from Austin urged Tesla to postpone the rollout until September, when new state regulations on autonomous vehicles will come into effect.

Users in Austin who receive invitations can download Tesla’s Robotaxi app to summon a vehicle. One screenshot shared online stated, “Through this exclusive preview, you’ll have the opportunity to provide valuable feedback on our Robotaxi service.” Reuters was unable to immediately verify the screenshots’ authenticity.

Apple Explores Potential Acquisition of AI Startup Perplexity, Bloomberg Reports

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Apple (AAPL.O) executives have held early internal discussions about possibly bidding for artificial intelligence startup Perplexity, according to a Bloomberg News report on Friday citing sources familiar with the matter. However, the talks are in preliminary stages and may not result in an offer, with no direct communication reported between Apple and Perplexity management.

Perplexity stated it has no knowledge of any current or future merger and acquisition discussions involving the company. Apple did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

This potential move aligns with a broader trend of major tech companies ramping up investments in AI technologies to strengthen their competitive edge amid growing demand for AI-powered services. Bloomberg also reported that Meta Platforms (META.O) had attempted to acquire Perplexity earlier this year. Meta recently announced a $14.8 billion investment in Scale AI and appointed its CEO, Alexandr Wang, to lead a new superintelligence division.

Apple’s head of mergers and acquisitions, Adrian Perica, has reportedly discussed the possibility with services chief Eddy Cue and top AI leaders. The company aims to integrate AI-driven search functionalities, like those from Perplexity AI, into its Safari browser, which could reduce its reliance on Alphabet’s (GOOGL.O) Google — a longtime default search partner.

This shift comes amid ongoing U.S. Department of Justice efforts to limit Google’s dominance in online search, including proposals to ban payments that secure default search engine status. While traditional search engines like Google remain dominant globally, AI-powered search tools such as Perplexity and ChatGPT are gaining traction, particularly among younger users.

Perplexity recently completed a funding round valuing the startup at $14 billion, making any acquisition deal at that scale potentially Apple’s largest to date. The Nvidia-backed company offers AI search services that provide users with summarized information, similar to OpenAI’s ChatGPT and Google’s Gemini.