Artificial Intelligence

Musk Sues Apple and OpenAI Over AI Competition Claims

Published AUG 26 2025

Story

Above: The Grok logo displayed on a mobile phone screen in front of a picture of Elon Musk on July 17, 2025. Image credit: Didem Mente/Anadolu/Getty Images

The Facts

Elon Musk's xAI and X Corp. filed a federal antitrust lawsuit in Texas on Monday, accusing Apple and OpenAI of illegally conspiring to thwart competition in artificial intelligence markets through their exclusive partnership.
Daily Wire
Verge
The lawsuit alleges that Apple's integration of ChatGPT into iPhones, iPads, and Macs gives OpenAI exclusive access to billions of user prompts from hundreds of millions of Apple devices, creating an unfair competitive advantage.
www.ft.com
CNBC
Musk's companies claim that Apple manipulates App Store rankings to favor ChatGPT while deprioritizing rival AI chatbots like Grok, with ChatGPT allegedly being the only AI chatbot featured in the Must-Have Apps section.
CBS News
CNET
Verge
The 61-page complaint seeks billions of dollars in damages and alleges that Apple holds 65% of the US smartphone market while OpenAI controls at least 80% of the generative AI chatbot market.
CBS News
Au
Apple announced its partnership with OpenAI in June 2024, making ChatGPT the default and only generative AI chatbot with first-party integration into Apple's smartphone operating system and Siri voice assistant.
The New York Times
New York Post
BBC News
Au
OpenAI responded to the lawsuit by calling it consistent with Musk's ongoing pattern of harassment, while Apple previously stated its App Store is designed to be fair and free of bias.
Daily Wire
Verge

Sources Split

LEFT

CENTER

RIGHT

ESTAB
CRIT

CENTER

PRO
ESTAB

The Spin

Narrative A

Apple and OpenAI are clearly gaming the system to crush competition. The exclusive ChatGPT integration gives OpenAI unfair access to billions of iPhone users while blocking rivals like Grok from the same opportunities. This partnership stifles innovation and forces consumers to use inferior default options instead of choosing the best AI tools.

CNBC

Narrative B

Musk is a hypocrite; he uses exactly the same (entirely legitimate) tactics as OpenAI and Apple with X, yet doesn't like it when he's on the receiving end of business savvy. This is just an outburst of hostility because ChatGPT is performing better than his bots. This deal serves everyone involved, especially consumers, who get to enjoy seamless, privacy-protected AI integration across their devices.

Openai

Al Jazeera