Key Metrics
22.57
Heat Index-
Impact LevelMedium
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Scope LevelGlobal
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Last Update2025-08-12
Key Impacts
Positive Impacts (3)
Negative Impacts (3)
Event Overview
The dispute highlights ongoing antitrust concerns in the tech industry, focusing on App Store practices that may stifle competition by favoring dominant AI applications over emerging rivals. Regulatory scrutiny centers on whether platform gatekeepers maintain fair market access.
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Elon Musk Threatens Immediate Legal Action Against Apple Over Alleged App Store Antitrust Violations
On Monday, Elon Musk announced that his artificial intelligence startup xAI intends to sue Apple, accusing the company of violating antitrust regulations by favoring rival AI applications in its App Store rankings. Musk made the statements in a series of posts on X, the social media platform he owns.
Musk claimed that Apple ensures OpenAI’s ChatGPT maintains the top position in the iPhone App Store’s rankings, thereby preventing other AI companies like xAI from reaching the number one spot. As of the announcement, Grok, xAI’s AI model, was ranked sixth in the U.S. App Store's Top Free Apps list, while ChatGPT held first place.
Musk also criticized Apple for not including either X or Grok in its “Must Have” section, despite X being, according to him, the top news app globally. "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 wrote.
An xAI account post, reposted by Musk, alleged that Apple’s curation favors established AI like ChatGPT over “innovative challengers” such as Grok, attributing this to editorial caution toward Grok’s unfiltered style. The post argued that this approach stifles competition.
In June 2024, Apple partnered with OpenAI to integrate ChatGPT services into its devices. Following that announcement, Musk threatened to ban Apple devices at his companies, including X, Tesla, and SpaceX, although it is unclear if he acted on the threat.
Apple’s App Store practices have faced legal scrutiny before. In April, a U.S. federal judge ruled that Apple had violated a court order to reform its App Store to promote greater competition. That case arose from a 2021 antitrust lawsuit by Epic Games, developer of Fortnite. In another April case, the European Commission fined Apple €500 million ($570 million) for violating a digital competition law by restricting developers from directing users to alternative payment methods.
CNN has reached out to xAI, Apple, and OpenAI for comment on Musk’s latest legal threat.