Musk announces plans for xAI to initiate a lawsuit against Apple due to disputes over App Store rankings
In a surprising turn of events, Elon Musk's artificial intelligence startup, xAI, has announced plans to take legal action against Apple. The allegations centre around Apple's management of the App Store, with xAI claiming that the tech giant is breaching antitrust regulations[1][2].
Musk made the announcement on his social media platform X, accusing Apple of "playing politics" and deliberately refusing to feature xAI's app, Grok, in the top recommended or "Must Have" section despite its high popularity[1][2]. According to Musk's statement, this practice makes it impossible for any AI company besides OpenAI to reach the top of the App Store rankings[1][2].
The legal action is in response to Grok's current ranking of fifth in the App Store's "Top Free Apps" section for iPhones in the US, while ChatGPT, developed by OpenAI, currently holds the top spot in the same category[1][2]. Notably, ChatGPT also leads the rankings on the Google Play Store[1].
This threat comes amid ongoing scrutiny of Apple’s App Store practices. In April, Apple was fined €500 million (US$587 million) by the EU antitrust enforcer for technical and commercial restrictions that prevented app developers from steering users to cheaper deals outside the App Store, in breach of the Digital Markets Act[1]. In a separate antitrust case with Epic Games, a US judge ruled that Apple violated a court order requiring it to allow greater competition in its App Store and referred the company to federal prosecutors for a criminal contempt investigation[1].
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman responded to the allegations by criticizing Musk's claims, suggesting Musk himself manipulates the platform X for personal gain[2]. As of the latest reports, no immediate response has been received from Apple, OpenAI, or xAI regarding the allegations[1][2].
[1] https://www.reuters.com/technology/elon-musks-ai-startup-threatens-legal-action-against-apple-2025-08-01/ [2] https://www.theverge.com/2025/8/1/27364116/elon-musk-xai-grok-apple-antitrust-lawsuit-threat-openai-chatgpt
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