Elon Musk's xAI Plans Legal Action Against Apple Over App Store AI Rankings

Elon Musk, CEO of xAI and owner of X and Grok apps, announced plans to take immediate legal action against Apple, accusing the company of antitrust violations by allegedly preventing any AI app other than OpenAI’s ChatGPT from reaching the top spot in the App Store. Musk criticized Apple for excluding X and Grok from the App Store's 'Must Have' recommendations despite X being the leading news app globally and Grok ranking fifth among all apps. While Musk did not provide evidence, Apple’s partnership with OpenAI integrates ChatGPT deeply into its products, and ChatGPT currently holds the top spot in the U.S. App Store's free apps category, with Grok in fifth place. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman responded by accusing Musk of manipulating his own platform, further straining their relationship. The controversy adds to Apple's ongoing legal battles over App Store practices, including recent antitrust fines from the European Union. However, critics note that other AI apps, such as DeepSeek and Perplexity, have also reached number one in various App Store markets, challenging Musk's claims of unfair favoritism.