Billionaire Elon Musk’s AI startup, xAI, recently sued Apple and OpenAI, accusing them of an anticompetitive conspiracy to harm Musk’s social media platform, X, and its chatbot, Grok, and to suppress competitors in the AI field. xAI is seeking billions of dollars in damages from Apple and OpenAI.
xAI accuses Apple and OpenAI of collusion to maintain a monopoly in the smartphone and generative AI markets. The lawsuit alleges that Apple favors OpenAI in its App Store rankings, while relegating xAI’s social media app, X, and its chatbot, Grok, to a lesser position.
“In its quest to maintain its smartphone monopoly, Apple has joined forces with OpenAI, the company that has profited most from stifling competition and innovation in artificial intelligence (AI) and the dominant player in the generative AI chatbot market,” the lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas, states. Apple and OpenAI are monopolizing the market to maintain their dominance and hindering competition from innovative companies like X Platform and xAI.
An OpenAI spokesperson said in a statement, “This latest complaint fits into a consistent pattern of harassment by Elon Musk.”
Apple partnered with OpenAI last year to integrate ChatGPT into iPhones, iPads, Mac laptops, and desktop computers. Earlier this month, Musk threatened to sue Apple for “blatant antitrust violations.” In a post on X Platform, he claimed that Apple’s actions “prevent any AI company other than OpenAI from reaching the top of the App Store charts.”
After Musk threatened to sue Apple, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman responded, “The accusation I’ve heard is that Elon is manipulating X to benefit himself and his company, and to harm his competitors and people he dislikes.”
Meanwhile, several users responded to Musk’s post, noting that after Apple and OpenAI announced their partnership, chatbot apps from competitors like DeepSeek and Perplexity topped the App Store charts.
Musk and Altman have a long history of conflict. The two co-founded OpenAI in 2015, but Musk left the startup in 2018 due to disagreements over OpenAI’s direction. Last year, Musk sued OpenAI and Altman, accusing them of breach of contract and prioritizing commercial interests over their original mission of “developing artificial intelligence for the benefit of all humanity.” In its countersuit, OpenAI alleged that Musk and xAI engaged in “harassment” through lawsuits, social media and media attacks, and a “false offer” to acquire the maker of ChatGPT for $97.4 billion, intended to harm the company’s business relationship.
XAI’s lawsuit against Apple and OpenAI, from a broader perspective, may offer US courts the first opportunity to assess whether a clearly defined market exists in the field of artificial intelligence and the scope of that market—critical questions in antitrust litigation. Christine Bartholomew, a professor at the University at Buffalo School of Law, described the case as an early warning of how courts may address the intersection of artificial intelligence and antitrust law on a global scale.
