Elon Musk files lawsuit against Apple and OpenAI for alleged antitrust violations in App Store

Elon Musk has followed through on his earlier threat by filing a lawsuit against Apple and OpenAI, accusing them of collusion to unfairly block competition in the artificial intelligence chatbot market via the App Store. The lawsuit, filed by two Musk-backed companies, X and xAI, alleges that Apple’s exclusive partnership with OpenAI to integrate ChatGPT into iOS devices violates antitrust laws by stifling competition against Musk’s own AI ventures like xAI’s Grok chatbot. The complaint argues that Apple and OpenAI’s agreement offers OpenAI an unfair advantage by boosting its visibility and usage among Apple device users, reducing the ability for competitors to rank highly or innovate. The suit claims OpenAI holds an 80% share in the US generative AI market and Apple controls approximately 65% of smartphone users, enabling them to maintain monopolistic dominance. Apple has yet to comment on the legal action, while OpenAI dismissed the lawsuit as part of what they call Musk’s ongoing harassment. This case adds to ongoing scrutiny against Apple’s App Store practices and Musk’s long-standing disputes with both companies, including his co-founding and subsequent lawsuit against OpenAI. The legal battle raises important questions about competition and fairness in the AI sector and smartphone ecosystems, with major implications for the future of AI app availability and innovation on iOS devices.