Musk’s Companies File Antitrust Lawsuit Against Apple and OpenAI
Two businesses backed by Elon Musk, social media platform X and artificial intelligence startup xAI, have filed a lawsuit in the United States accusing Apple and OpenAI of anti-competitive practices.
The complaint, lodged in federal court in Texas, challenges Apple’s decision to integrate OpenAI’s ChatGPT into its iPhone operating system under an exclusive agreement. Musk’s firms argue that the partnership unfairly restricts competition, gives OpenAI an undue advantage in the App Store, and provides access to the data of millions of Apple users.
According to the filing, “there is no valid business reason for the Apple-OpenAI deal to be exclusive,” adding that the arrangement has “foreclosed competition among generative AI chatbots” and stifled innovation. The lawsuit also claims that the integration boosted ChatGPT’s downloads over rivals such as Perplexity and DeepSeek.
Apple, which controls around 65% of the U.S. smartphone market, did not immediately comment on the lawsuit. OpenAI, which the filing says holds roughly 80% of the U.S. chatbot market, dismissed the case as “consistent with Mr Musk’s ongoing pattern of harassment.”
Musk co-founded OpenAI with Sam Altman in 2015 but has since become a vocal critic of the company, accusing it of straying from its original mission. Their rivalry deepened after Musk launched his own AI ventures, including xAI and Grok, a competing chatbot.
Apple’s App Store practices have been scrutinized in other legal disputes, including antitrust cases involving Google. The company has maintained that its policies are fair and unbiased, noting that multiple AI apps have topped its charts at various times. Reports have also suggested Apple is exploring partnerships with other AI providers, including Google’s Gemini, to strengthen its digital assistant, Siri.
