Musk Targets App Store Monopoly

Musk Opens New Antitrust Front Against Apple in AI War

Elon Musk has ignited a new and potentially explosive front in the technology sector’s ongoing artificial intelligence wars, threatening Apple with legal action. The billionaire accuses the iPhone maker of anti-competitive practices within its App Store, claiming the company deliberately favours OpenAI’s ChatGPT over his own AI ventures, Grok and the social media platform X. This public challenge sets the stage for a significant antitrust battle, moving the fight against Apple’s alleged monopoly from the realm of app developers like Epic Games into the fiercely contested arena of generative AI. Musk’s offensive questions the very core of Apple’s control over its digital marketplace: the power to editorially crown winners and sideline rivals, a power that could prove fatal for emerging competitors in the new AI economy.

A Public Accusation

The offensive began not in a courtroom, but in the court of public opinion. In a series of pointed posts on his social media platform, X, Elon Musk directly challenged Apple’s App Store curation. He publicly questioned why the company refuses to feature either X or his AI chatbot, Grok, in its prominent ‘Must Have’ section. Musk asserted that X is the world’s number one news application, while Grok ranks as the fifth most popular app overall. He provocatively asked if Apple was “playing politics,” stating that curious people deserved an explanation. This direct confrontation was framed as a precursor to a legal case, building a narrative of unfairness and bias before an audience of millions.

The Lawsuit Threat

Elon Musk has not disclosed the specifics of his legal plans, nor has he stated if any legal proceedings are currently active. He escalated his claims significantly, however, declaring that his AI company, xAI, would pursue "immediate legal action" against the technology giant. The foundation of his charge is that Apple's policies make it impossible for other AI companies to reach the top spot on its software marketplace. Musk labelled this situation an “unequivocal antitrust violation". This threat adds to the increasing number of confrontations Apple faces from regulators and competitors over its stringent App Store policies.

Apple’s Official Denial

In response to the very public allegations, Apple broke its silence to defend the integrity of its platform. The company issued a formal statement insisting that its App Store is designed to be “fair and free of bias”. Apple clarified that its rankings and editorial recommendations are determined by a combination of algorithmic signals, expert human curation, and objective performance data like download numbers, user ratings, and retention rates. The company asserted it applies these same standards universally to all applications, irrespective of the developer, firmly rejecting any notion that it gives preferential treatment to OpenAI.

A Counter-Narrative Emerges

While Musk has yet to provide concrete technical evidence for his claims of algorithmic discrimination, a counter-narrative quickly emerged. Other users on his own platform, X, pointed out that his central claim is factually questionable. Community notes appended to Musk’s post cited instances where other AI applications, such as DeepSeek and Perplexity, had indeed reached the number one position on the software marketplace. These examples occurred after Apple's partnership with OpenAI was public knowledge, undermining the assertion that it is "impossible" for any other AI company to achieve the top spot. Apple itself has highlighted these other successful AI apps as a counterexample to Musk's accusations.

The OpenAI Partnership

The core of Musk's complaint stems from the strengthening ties between OpenAI and Apple. A significant partnership was unveiled by Apple during June of 2024, which will embed ChatGPT's technology directly into its main operating systems. This deal integrates the chatbot’s capabilities into iPhones, iPads, and Mac computers, primarily through an enhanced Siri and new writing functions available throughout the system. For OpenAI, the agreement provides an unmatched level of prominence and a direct link to a vast user base of several hundred million people who use Apple products.

Privacy and Integration

Apple, ever conscious of its brand identity built on user privacy, structured the OpenAI partnership carefully. The company has stressed that it will not store user requests on OpenAI's servers and will obscure IP addresses to protect identities. Before any query, document, or photo is sent to ChatGPT for processing, users receive a prompt asking for explicit permission. The integration, powered by OpenAI’s latest models like GPT-4o and the newly announced GPT-5, allows users to access the service for free without an account. Subscribers to ChatGPT can also connect their accounts to access paid features, seamlessly blending the two ecosystems.

A History of Bitterness

Elon Musk’s campaign against OpenAI is deeply personal and rooted in a complex history. He was one of the original co-founders of the organisation back in 2015, alongside current CEO Sam Altman. The initial mission, which Musk claims he helped name, was to create a non-profit research lab as a transparent counterweight to corporate AI development, particularly at Google. Musk was a key figure in establishing the foundational goal of ensuring that artificial general intelligence would benefit all of humanity.

The Falling-Out

The collaboration unravelled just three years after its inception. In early 2018, Musk reportedly grew concerned that OpenAI was falling dangerously behind its competitors. He proposed a solution: that he should take personal control of the organisation and run it himself. When Sam Altman and the other founders rejected this takeover bid, Musk walked away. His departure included reneging on a significant portion of his pledged funding. He has since positioned himself as among its most severe detractors, particularly following its transition to a capped for-profit structure and its multi-billion-dollar partnership with Microsoft.

Image Credit- by Dweider, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Enter Grok, the Challenger

In response to what he views as OpenAI’s betrayal of its founding principles, Musk launched his own artificial intelligence company, xAI, in March 2023. The company’s flagship product is Grok, a generative AI chatbot first unveiled in November 2023. From the outset, Grok has been branded as a provocative substitute for what Musk considers the politically correct and restrictive nature of mainstream chatbots. The chatbot Grok is embedded straight into X, the social media network Musk took ownership of in 2022, providing real-time access to information and aiming to provide unfiltered responses.

Grok’s Aggressive Strategy

To accelerate its challenge against established players, xAI has pursued an aggressive growth strategy. The company recently made the standard version of its Grok 4 model freely available to all users for a limited time, a move seen as a direct response to OpenAI's release of its powerful GPT-5 model. Furthermore, xAI has courted controversy and engagement by incorporating not-safe-for-work (NSFW) features into Grok, including a "spicy" mode for generating adult-oriented images and videos. This strategy aims to capture a user base seeking fewer content restrictions, but also carries significant regulatory and ethical risks.

The War of Words

The dispute has devolved into a public feud between Musk and OpenAI’s Sam Altman. Responding to Musk’s threat to sue Apple, Altman fired back with his own accusations. He called Musk's claim "remarkable" and pointed to widespread allegations that Musk manipulates the algorithm on X to artificially boost his own posts and benefit his companies, while harming competitors. This triggered an online spat, with Musk dismissing Altman's post as "bullshit" and calling him a "liar" after observing the high engagement it received.

An AI Betrayal

In a moment of supreme irony, Musk's own creation appeared to turn against him. When prompted by a user on X to adjudicate the dispute, the Grok chatbot sided with Sam Altman. Grok’s response stated that Musk's antitrust claim against Apple was undermined by other apps reaching the top spot and noted that Musk himself has a history of directing algorithmic changes to favour his own interests. Musk was forced to publicly critique his own product, claiming the response contained "false defamatory statements" and that Grok gives too much credibility to legacy media, a "major problem" his engineers were working to fix.

The Antitrust Argument in the AI Era

This conflict repositions long-standing arguments about Apple’s market power for the new landscape of AI. For years, Apple has faced intense scrutiny from developers and regulators who argue its absolute authority over its App Store is tantamount to an unlawful monopoly. The company's control over app distribution and its mandatory 15 to 30 per cent commission on in-app payments have been the subject of numerous lawsuits and investigations around the globe. Musk is now repurposing these exact arguments, focusing them on the new, high-stakes field of artificial intelligence. His grievance strikes at the heart of the App Store's power: its capacity to declare winners and doom competitors through its own promotional choices.

The Epic Games Precedent

The most significant precedent for this kind of challenge comes from Epic Games, the creator of Fortnite. In 2020, Epic initiated a global legal battle against Apple after its removal from the software storefront for implementing its own payment system to bypass Apple's commission. The ensuing lawsuits in the United States, United Kingdom, and Australia have tested the legality of Apple's walled garden ecosystem. While Apple has largely won on the most severe monopoly claims, court rulings have forced it to allow developers to link to external payment options, cracking the fortress walls.

The UK Regulatory Front

Apple’s practices are under particular scrutiny in the United Kingdom. In January 2025, the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) launched new strategic investigations into the mobile ecosystems of both Apple and Google. These probes, under the powers of the new Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act, will assess whether the companies’ dominance in operating systems, app stores, and browsers creates insurmountable barriers for competitors. The CMA is specifically investigating if these tech giants unfairly favour their own services and impose exploitative terms on developers, echoing the very complaints raised by Musk.

Europe’s Digital Markets Act

Across the channel, Apple is also contending with the European Union’s powerful Digital Markets Act (DMA). In March, the EU fined Apple €1.8 billion for abusing its dominant position by preventing music streaming apps from informing users about cheaper subscription options available elsewhere. During June of 2024, the European Commission announced preliminary findings that Apple’s current App Store rules still violate the DMA by not allowing developers to freely steer customers to alternative offers. These ongoing regulatory battles create a hostile environment for Apple and provide a favourable backdrop for Musk’s threatened lawsuit.

Musk’s Classic Power Play

This entire episode is a characteristic move from Elon Musk’s playbook. He has a well-documented history of employing aggressive, high-profile tactics to generate public pressure and force his rivals to the negotiating table. By framing the conflict as a fight for fairness and against a biased monopoly, he aims to rally public support and place Apple in a defensive position. His decision to broadcast his grievances and legal threats on X is a calculated strategy to control the narrative and apply maximum leverage. The public spectacle itself becomes a tool in his business arsenal.

An Uncertain Future

The key unknown now is whether Apple will engage with his provocations or decide to disregard his threat entirely. The company has so far responded only with a formal denial of bias, choosing not to engage directly with Musk's more inflammatory rhetoric. Whether xAI’s threatened lawsuit will ever materialise remains to be seen, as Musk has not yet filed a formal complaint. The outcome of this standoff could have profound implications. It may redefine the rules of competition for the distribution of AI technologies and determine whether Apple’s walled garden can withstand the force of its most unpredictable and combative challenger.