Musk’s xAI Sues Apple, OpenAI Over AI Monopoly

Elon Musk’s artificial intelligence startup, xAI, has filed a lawsuit against Apple and OpenAI in a U.S. federal court in Texas, accusing them of conspiring to create an AI monopoly.

The lawsuit seeks billions of dollars in damages and raises major antitrust concerns over Apple’s integration of ChatGPT into its operating systems.

According to Nairametrics, the lawsuit alleges that Apple and OpenAI have locked up markets to maintain their dominance and prevent innovators like X and xAI from competing fairly.

“If not for its exclusive deal with OpenAI, Apple would have no reason to refrain from more prominently featuring the X app and the Grok app in its App Store,” the lawsuit stated.

xAI argues that the exclusive arrangement between Apple and OpenAI is limiting rivals from gaining visibility and market share.

Musk’s position
Musk, who acquired X in March for $33 billion to enhance xAI’s chatbot training capabilities, took to his platform to reinforce the claims.
“A million reviews with 4.9 average for @Grok and still Apple refuses to mention Grok on any lists,” he posted on X.

Earlier this month, Nairametrics reported that Musk accused Apple of giving preferential treatment to OpenAI on its App Store, alleging that the iPhone maker’s ranking system makes it impossible for other developers, including his AI venture xAI Holdings, to reach the top spot.

“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. xAI will take immediate legal action,” Musk wrote on X.

According to Reuters, OpenAI dismissed Musk’s allegations, describing the lawsuit as “part of his ongoing pattern of harassment,” while Apple has yet to respond.

Expert Opinions
Antitrust experts say Apple’s dominant role in the smartphone market could strengthen xAI’s claims, but Apple may argue that its integration of ChatGPT is a competitive business choice with security and operational considerations.

Herbert Hovenkamp, a professor at the University of Pennsylvania law school, explained that U.S. courts will need to determine whether a defined “AI market” exists a key issue in antitrust cases.

What You Should Know

OpenAI’s ChatGPT became the fastest-growing consumer app in history after its 2022 launch.

Apple announced plans to embed ChatGPT directly into iOS, iPadOS, and macOS, giving it deep integration across devices.

Musk founded xAI to compete with OpenAI, Microsoft-backed AI projects, and Chinese rival DeepSeek. Its Grok chatbot is also integrated into Tesla vehicles.

Musk previously co-founded OpenAI in 2015 as a nonprofit but is now suing to block its for-profit transition, alongside a $97.4 billion unsolicited takeover bid.

Apple has faced other antitrust battles, including a case with Epic Games over App Store practices.