Elon Musk is once again directing his attention towards Apple, accusing the technology behemoth of an “unequivocal antitrust violation” for purportedly giving OpenAI preferential treatment in the AI rankings of the App Store. This allegation surfaces following xAI’s recent launch of Grok 4, a large language model that claims to deliver noteworthy performance enhancements over its rivals. Subsequently, xAI rolled out new features, such as Grok Imagine, an image and video generation tool, along with customizable “companion” chatbots.
In the last month, the Grok app has experienced a significant boost in the App Store rankings, ascending from about 60th to 29th position, and most recently achieving fifth overall and second in the Productivity category after becoming free for users globally. Despite these advancements, Grok has yet to eclipse OpenAI’s ChatGPT, which has consistently held a premier position in the App Store. Apple has prominently showcased ChatGPT in its editorial content and has collaborated with OpenAI for its Apple Intelligence initiative, which encompasses Siri integration and support for writing applications.
Musk’s legal threats were conveyed through a post on X, where he asserted that Apple’s behavior renders it impossible for any AI company other than OpenAI to reach the pinnacle of the App Store, branding it an antitrust infringement. The details behind this legal move remain ambiguous, but Musk’s past indicates he may further elaborate on his rationale in the upcoming days.
Musk co-founded OpenAI but has since distanced himself from the entity, recently filing a lawsuit to prevent its shift to a for-profit model. His rivalry with OpenAI through xAI may be shaping his current concerns about the App Store, as he views Apple’s platform as a crucial element in OpenAI’s achievements.
While Musk has a history of hinting at legal action without always proceeding, it remains uncertain if xAI will initiate a lawsuit or if Musk will offer additional insights in the near future. The ongoing discussion raises issues regarding whether Apple is indeed granting OpenAI an unfair advantage within the App Store environment.
