The simmering rivalry between Elon Musk and Sam Altman has boiled over into a public confrontation, with Musk now targeting Apple with a lawsuit threat. Musk, on behalf of his AI startup xAI, claims that Apple is committing an “unequivocal antitrust violation” by favoring OpenAI in its App Store rankings. He pointed to his Grok app’s number five position while OpenAI’s ChatGPT sits at number one, questioning the fairness of the ranking system. This public spat on X marks another contentious chapter in their history.
The feud between the two tech moguls dates back to their time as co-founders of OpenAI. Musk left the company in 2018 after his proposal to take it over was rejected. He has since sued the company twice, alleging it betrayed its founding mission. Altman has consistently portrayed Musk as a jealous and bitter ex-partner, a sentiment that seems to be fueling their current exchange. Altman challenged Musk to sign an affidavit that he has never manipulated X’s algorithm, a move that highlights the hypocrisy Altman sees in Musk’s claims.
Despite Musk’s accusations, evidence suggests his claims about the App Store may be unfounded. Community notes on X have highlighted instances where other AI apps, not affiliated with OpenAI, have reached the number one spot. The Chinese AI app DeepSeek and the search engine Perplexity both hit the top spot in different markets this year, providing a clear counter-narrative to Musk’s allegations. Intriguingly, when asked by a user, xAI’s own chatbot, Grok, stated that “based on verified evidence, Sam Altman is right” in the dispute.
Musk’s threat against Apple comes as the company faces a wave of regulatory challenges. Both the EU and the US Department of Justice have filed significant actions against Apple, accusing it of anti-competitive practices. The EU fined the company €500 million, and the DOJ’s lawsuit alleges Apple maintains an illegal smartphone monopoly. Musk’s new legal posturing adds to the pressure on Apple to justify its control over the App Store.
