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Elon Musk’s companies, X and xAI, have filed a lawsuit against Apple and OpenAI, alleging that the two tech giants have engaged in an illegal arrangement to stifle competition in the generative AI market.
The lawsuit, filed in a federal court in Texas, claims that an exclusive deal to integrate OpenAI’s ChatGPT chatbot into Apple’s smartphone operating systems gives the company an unfair advantage.
According to the filing, the Apple-OpenAI deal, signed in 2024, has “foreclosed competition among generative AI chatbots” and “deprived competing generative AI chatbots of scale.”
Musk’s firms, which include his chatbot alternative Grok, argue that the arrangement makes it more difficult for new competitors to enter and thrive in the market. The lawsuit also claims that the deal provided the ChatGPT app with a significant boost in the App Store, increasing its downloads relative to rivals.
The core issue, as framed by Musk’s companies, is the anti-competitive nature of the exclusive partnership. They contend that there is no valid business reason for the deal to be exclusive and that it has ultimately reduced quality and innovation in the sector.
This legal battle is the latest development in a long-standing and intensifying rivalry between Elon Musk and OpenAI’s CEO, Sam Altman, who were co-founders of OpenAI in 2015.
The lawsuit asserts that OpenAI controls approximately 80% of the US generative AI chatbot market, while Apple holds a dominant 65% share of the smartphone market. Musk’s legal action follows his prior threats and public accusations against Apple, and reflects his broader concerns about the power and influence of these companies over the AI landscape.
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