Elon Musk Alleges Apple Favors OpenAI in App Store Rankings, Threatens Legal Action

Elon Musk, founder of xAI and owner of the X social network, has accused Apple of antitrust violations by allegedly favoring OpenAI’s ChatGPT app in its App Store rankings, making it difficult for competitors like his AI chatbot Grok to reach the top spot. Musk criticized Apple for excluding X and Grok from the App Store's “Must Have” section despite their high rankings, and he announced plans for immediate legal action. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman responded by accusing Musk of manipulating the X platform to benefit his own companies and harm competitors, dismissing Musk’s claims as hypocritical. Apple has not yet responded to these allegations but has publicly deepened its partnership with OpenAI, integrating ChatGPT into its Apple Intelligence features and planning further use of OpenAI’s GPT-5 in upcoming software releases. The dispute highlights ongoing tensions among major AI companies and growing regulatory scrutiny over app store competition and market dominance. This conflict is part of a broader rivalry between Musk and Altman, including ongoing lawsuits and public disputes dating back to Musk’s departure from OpenAI’s board in 2018.