Apple Dismisses Musk’s Allegations of App Store Bias Amid OpenAI Feud
Apple has refuted fresh allegations from Elon Musk that its App Store unfairly limits competition, maintaining that the platform operates “free from bias” and offers equal opportunity to all developers.
The dispute began after Musk, who owns social platform X, claimed Apple had made it “impossible” for other apps to compete with OpenAI’s ChatGPT, following Apple’s partnership with the AI firm in June 2024. He also accused OpenAI chief executive Sam Altman of dishonesty, reigniting a long-running personal and professional rift between the two billionaires.
In a statement to the BBC, Apple said the App Store showcases “thousands of apps” through rankings, algorithm-driven recommendations, and curated lists reviewed by experts under objective criteria. The company pointed out that rival AI apps like DeepSeek and Perplexity have recently topped the App Store charts, indicating that no single product is favoured.
Musk, however, escalated the row by questioning why X and its AI chatbot Grok were excluded from the store’s “Must Have” list, despite Grok ranking fifth among all apps and X claiming the top spot in global news app downloads. ChatGPT currently leads UK free app downloads, with Grok in third place; X does not appear in the top 40 overall.
The public spat quickly drew in Altman, who highlighted a report alleging Musk had boosted the visibility of his own X posts in users’ feeds.
The Musk–Altman rivalry stretches back to 2015, when they co-founded OpenAI with the goal of developing artificial general intelligence (AGI) as a non-profit, open-source initiative to “benefit humanity.” Musk left the company in 2018, later accusing it of abandoning its founding principles after it created a for-profit arm in 2019 and deepened its partnership with Microsoft.
In March 2024, Musk sued OpenAI, alleging the firm prioritised profits over its original mission. Though he dropped the suit months later, OpenAI responded with its own legal action in April, accusing Musk of using “bad-faith tactics” to undermine its work. The tension escalated further when Musk reportedly made an unsolicited $100 billion offer to acquire OpenAI earlier this year – an approach the board rejected outright.
The latest exchange over the App Store suggests neither the personal rivalry nor the corporate competition between Musk and Altman is likely to cool anytime soon.
