Apple under scrutiny as Elon Musk mulls potential legal action
In a recent development, Elon Musk, the CEO of xAI, has threatened to sue Apple over allegations of discriminatory practices in the App Store. Musk claims that Apple's App Store ranking system unlawfully favours OpenAI's ChatGPT app, making it impossible for other AI companies, including his own xAI startup's AI chatbot Grok, to reach the top spot.
As of August 2025, ChatGPT ranks #1 on Apple's App Store, while Grok is at sixth place. Musk believes this reflects improper favouritism linked to Apple's partnership with OpenAI. He has labelled this an "unequivocal antitrust violation" and vowed immediate legal action if Apple does not address the issue.
Musk has publicly highlighted this problem on his social media platform X, questioning why his apps, including X itself (which he claims is the #1 news app globally), are ranked lower. He has accused Apple of playing politics with the rankings. In response, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman dismissed Musk’s lawsuit threat as "remarkable," pointing out Musk’s own history of alleged manipulative practices on X to benefit himself and harm competitors, while reaffirming OpenAI’s focus on product development.
The dispute centres on Apple's App Store policies and ranking algorithms amid a competitive AI app market, reflecting broader tensions regarding platform control and antitrust concerns in tech. Both Apple and Musk's xAI startup have not provided detailed comments on the situation beyond Musk's accusations.
It is important to note that the outcomes of the lawsuits initiated by xAI are still pending, and Apple has not yet responded to these allegations. This is not the first time Musk has threatened to sue a company over app treatment issues, and xAI has a history of suing other companies and industry groups, accusing them of colluding to harm the platform.
Meanwhile, Deepseek, a Chinese AI startup, caused a stir worldwide at the beginning of the year, with its AI being on par with western competitors like ChatGPT from OpenAI or Gemini from Google. The apps in question are X and Grok, developed by Elon Musk's companies.
In the tech industry, such disputes highlight the ongoing competition and the complexities involved in maintaining fair and competitive app ecosystems. As the AI market continues to grow, it will be interesting to see how this situation unfolds.
[1] TechCrunch. (2025). Elon Musk Threatens to Sue Apple Over Alleged Discrimination Against AI Apps. [online] Available at: https://techcrunch.com/2025/08/01/elon-musk-threatens-to-sue-apple-over-alleged-discrimination-against-ai-apps/
[2] The Verge. (2025). Elon Musk Accuses Apple of Anti-Competitive Behavior Over App Store Rankings. [online] Available at: https://www.theverge.com/2025/08/01/23294064/elon-musk-apple-anti-competitive-behavior-app-store-rankings-lawsuit-threat
- Amidst the ongoing legal battle, Elon Musk has called upon government finance bodies and regulatory authorities to ensure a fair and competitive business environment in the tech industry, suggesting stricter regulations for technology companies like Apple to prevent potential antitrust violations.
- With the unfolding dispute over alleged discrimination in Apple's App Store rankings, tech companies and businesses are closely monitoring the situation, seeing it as an opportunity to revisit financing options and potential mergers and acquisitions to strengthen their market position in the competitive AI app market.
- The ongoing controversy and the threat of lawsuits have ignited fierce debates and general-news discussions in political and business circles worldwide, further highlighting the importance of legislative actions to protect workers, maintain fair competition, and ensure transparency in the technology sector.
