Musk Threatens Legal Action Against Apple Over App Store Rankings

Elon Musk announced on Monday that his AI startup xAI will pursue legal action against Apple, accusing the tech giant of violating antitrust rules by allegedly favoring OpenAI’s ChatGPT in App Store rankings.

Musk claimed Apple’s App Store policies make it “impossible for any AI company besides OpenAI to reach #1,” calling the practice a “clear antitrust violation.” At present, ChatGPT is ranked first in the U.S. App Store’s “Top Free Apps,” while xAI’s chatbot Grok stands in fifth place.

Musk also criticized Apple for not featuring X (formerly Twitter) or Grok in its “Must Have” section, despite X being the “#1 news app globally” and Grok ranking among the top five apps. He suggested Apple might be “playing politics” in its selection process.

Apple, OpenAI, and xAI did not respond to Reuters’ requests for comment. However, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman pushed back against Musk’s claims, pointing out the irony by referencing Musk’s own alleged efforts to manipulate X for personal advantage.

Community fact-checkers on X highlighted that other AI apps, such as China’s DeepSeek and Perplexity AI, have reached the top spot in the App Store this year, undermining Musk’s argument that only OpenAI benefits from Apple’s system.

The dispute comes amid increasing regulatory scrutiny of Apple’s App Store dominance. Earlier in 2024, the EU fined Apple €500 million ($581 million) for anti-competitive practices, ruling that the company’s restrictions prevented app developers from directing users outside the App Store ecosystem.

Musk’s challenge may add further pressure to global regulators already investigating Apple’s control over app distribution and its partnerships with AI companies.