Musk’s companies claim that iPhone users “have no reason” to download third-party AI apps because the company “forces users to use ChatGPT as their default chatbot app when enabling Apple Intelligence. “Apple and OpenAI have locked up markets to maintain their monopolies and prevent innovators like X and xAI from competing,” the companies allege.
Musk threatened Apple with legal action earlier this month after accusing the company of rigging App Store rankings in favor of OpenAI.” Apple is behaving in a manner that makes it impossible for any AI company besides OpenAI to reach #1 in the App Store, which is an unequivocal antitrust violation,” Musk said at the time.
The lawsuit adds that through the X and Grok apps have received high rankings, neither appears in the App Store’s “Must-Have Apps” section, where ChatGPT was allegedly the “only” AI chatbot in the section on August 24th, 2025.
CNBC reported: Two of Elon Musk’s companies sued Apple and OpenAI on Monday, accusing the pair of an “anticompetitive scheme” to thwart artificial intelligence rivals.
The lawsuit, filed by Musk’s AI startup xAI and his social media platform X, alleges Apple and OpenAI have “colluded” to maintain monopolies in the smartphone and generative AI markets.
“In a desperate bid to protect its smartphone monopoly, Apple has joined forces with the company that most benefits from inhibiting competition and innovation in AI: OpenAI, a monopolist in the market for generative AI chatbots” according to the complaint, which was filed in the U.S. District Court of Texas.
9TO5 Mac reported: Elon Musk has surprisingly made good on one of his promises. Earlier this month, Musk accused Apple of rigging the App Store rankings and threatened to sue the company for this “unequivocal antitrust violation.”
“Apple is behaving in a manner that makes it impossible for any AI company besides OpenAI to reach #1 in the App Store,” Musk posted at the time.
In a Texas court on Monday, Musk’s xAI has officially filed a lawsuit against Apple and OpenAI, accusing the two companies of colluding to prevent competition in the AI industry.
The lawsuit cites App Store rankings and editorial features as evidence of the collusion between Apple and OpenAI. For instance, the lawsuit takes issue with the xAI app never appearing in Apple’s “Must-Have Apps” guide on the App Store.