Elon Musk has opened a recent entrance in his ongoing feud with Huge tech.This time he’s focusing on Apple.
On Monday night time, the Tesla and SpaceX CEO accused the iPhone maker of antitrust violations, claiming its App Retailer insurance policies put his AI chatbot Grok, developed by xAI, at a drawback in comparison with rivals, significantly OpenAI’s ChatGPT. “Apple is behaving in a fashion that makes it inconceivable for any AI firm moreover OpenAI to achieve #1 within the App Retailer, which is an unequivocal antitrust violation,” Musk posted on X (previously Twitter). “xAI will take fast authorized motion.”
Apple is behaving in a fashion that makes it inconceivable for any AI firm moreover OpenAI to achieve #1 within the App Retailer, which is an unequivocal antitrust violation.
xAI will take fast authorized motion.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) August 12, 2025
Musk didn’t elaborate on the authorized technique or affirm whether or not a lawsuit is already in movement. However his public offensive had begun earlier within the night, as if he had been constructing a case earlier than a jury.
“Hey @Apple App Retailer, why do you refuse to place both 𝕏 or Grok in your ‘Should Have’ part when 𝕏 is the #1 information app on the earth and Grok is #5 amongst all apps?” he wrote in one other publish. “Are you taking part in politics? What provides? Inquiring minds need to know.”
A fast examine by Gizmodo discovered that ChatGPT is presently the No. 1 free app within the U.S. iOS App Retailer and the one AI chatbot featured in Apple’s “Should-Have Apps” part.
Musk sees that as proof of bias, and he’s tying it to Apple’s deeper ties with OpenAI. “And why is ChatGPT actually in each checklist the place you’ve gotten editorial management?” he added in yet one more publish.
Apple and OpenAI introduced a partnership in June 2024 to combine ChatGPT into iPhones, iPads, and Macs by way of Siri and system-wide writing instruments. The deal gave OpenAI’s chatbot unprecedented visibility and direct entry to tons of of thousands and thousands of Apple customers.
And why is ChatGPT actually in each checklist the place you’ve gotten editorial management?
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) August 12, 2025
Musk, who co-founded OpenAI in 2015 however left the corporate three years later after a falling-out, has since change into certainly one of its fiercest critics. His AI firm, xAI, launched Grok in late 2023, branding it as an “edgy” different to mainstream chatbots. Grok is built-in straight into X, the social platform Musk acquired in 2022.
The spat with Apple provides to Musk’s rising checklist of AI-related battles, together with lawsuits, public feuds with former allies, and frequent claims that opponents are politically biased.
A New Antitrust Battleground
Musk’s risk marks the opening salvo in what may change into a serious new antitrust struggle. Apple has lengthy confronted scrutiny and lawsuits from builders corresponding to Epic Video games, in addition to regulators within the U.S. and Europe, who argue that its iron grip on the App Retailer quantities to an unlawful monopoly.
Now, Musk is repurposing those self same arguments for the AI period. His grievance targets the core of Apple’s App Retailer energy: the flexibility to anoint winners and bury rivals by way of editorial curation and promotion. For an upstart like xAI, being sidelined whereas a competitor enjoys premium placement might be deadly.
In Musk’s view, Apple’s promotion of ChatGPT is a part of a comfy, probably anti-competitive relationship with OpenAI.
Apple didn’t instantly reply to Gizmodo’s request for remark.
Our Take
It’s Musk’s traditional sturdy arm transfer. He’s finished it earlier than, yell loud sufficient, play the bully, and pressure your rival to the desk. Now the query is whether or not Apple takes the bait or calls his bluff.
