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Elon Musk has taken Apple Inc. and OpenAI to court, accusing the tech giants of stifling competition and giving preferential treatment to OpenAI’s ChatGPT across Apple devices. The lawsuit, filed by Musk’s xAI and social media platform X in federal court in Fort Worth, Texas, comes after Musk publicly criticised Apple for allegedly keeping his Grok AI app off the App Store while ChatGPT dominates the charts.

The complaint claims that Apple has integrated OpenAI into iPhones, iPads, and Macs, effectively locking up the market for ChatGPT while excluding competing AI platforms, including Musk’s Grok AI. According to xAI, Apple’s exclusive arrangement with OpenAI prevents other innovators from gaining visibility or reaching the top ranks in the App Store. “Apple and OpenAI have locked up markets to maintain their monopolies and prevent innovators like X and xAI from competing,” the lawsuit states.

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Earlier this month, Musk had warned Apple publicly, saying the company’s policies make it “impossible for any AI company besides OpenAI to reach #1 in the App Store.” xAI’s filing claims Apple and OpenAI conspired to suppress its products, arguing that without the exclusive partnership, Apple would have no reason to deprioritize the X app or the Grok AI app in its marketplace.

Grok AI And Musk’s Expanding AI Ventures

Musk’s xAI, founded less than two years ago, is already competing with Microsoft-backed OpenAI and Chinese startup DeepSeek. Earlier this year, xAI acquired X (formerly Twitter) for $33 billion, aiming to enhance chatbot training. The Grok AI assistant has also been integrated into Tesla vehicles, strengthening Musk’s AI ecosystem.

The lawsuit ties Musk’s AI ambitions to his broader technology ventures, emphasising how Apple’s alleged favouritism affects competition and consumer choice. By excluding Grok AI and other competitors, the complaint asserts that Apple limits alternatives for iPhone users.

Apple has faced scrutiny over its App Store policies before. In the ongoing Epic Games case, a judge ordered Apple to open its payment system to more competition, highlighting broader regulatory pressures. Musk’s legal team appears to be leveraging this precedent to argue that Apple’s alignment with OpenAI constitutes unfair market control, harming innovation in AI.

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Ongoing Legal Battles With OpenAI

This lawsuit is not Musk’s first confrontation with OpenAI. He is separately suing the company and CEO Sam Altman in California over its shift from a nonprofit, originally founded with Musk’s support in 2015, to a for-profit structure. The Texas filing marks a high-profile escalation in Musk’s efforts to challenge perceived monopolistic behavior in the AI sector.