Elon Musk has turned another corner in his fight with OpenAI, this time pulling Apple into the dispute. His company xAI, which also owns the social platform X, filed a lawsuit in Texas accusing the two tech giants of running a setup that sidelines competitors in the chatbot market. The complaint points to Apple’s close partnership with OpenAI and the way its App Store ranks and reviews software.
Grok Left in the Shadows
The complaint centers on Grok, the chatbot built by xAI. Musk’s lawyers argue it doesn’t get a fair chance to reach iPhone users. They say Apple’s store review process slows down rivals, that curated lists spotlight OpenAI’s ChatGPT more often, and that search rankings quietly push Grok down. For a service still trying to gain traction, visibility is everything. The suit claims Apple’s actions cut that off.
Why Prompt Volume Matters
The case isn’t just about screen space. It drills into how chatbots learn. More prompts from users mean more training data. More data means faster improvement. By directing Apple’s massive customer base toward ChatGPT, the argument goes, OpenAI keeps accelerating while Grok is left behind. The complaint ties that gap directly to revenue and innovation, saying fewer prompts don’t just stunt growth, they keep the system weaker than it should be.
Apple’s Hold on Smartphones
There’s a broader point too. Musk’s filing links the issue to Apple’s place in the smartphone market. One Apple executive had acknowledged during another court battle that AI could one day make people less reliant on iPhones. xAI claims Apple knows that risk and is trying to slow it by favoring one partner, OpenAI, and denying access to others who might chip away at its hold on mobile devices.
Requests That Went Nowhere
The lawsuit notes that xAI asked Apple to let Grok plug directly into iOS, in the same way ChatGPT was folded into “Apple Intelligence.” That request, according to the filing, was turned down. Google’s Gemini has been mentioned by Apple leaders as a possible option in the future, yet so far only OpenAI has been granted deep integration.
Pushback From Apple and OpenAI
Apple has rejected claims of bias before, pointing out that its app store hosts thousands of AI apps ranked through algorithms and human editors. OpenAI has dismissed Musk’s repeated complaints as part of a campaign of lawsuits and public attacks stretching back to his exit from the company in 2018.
A Long Rivalry Gets Sharper
For Musk, this isn’t a new fight. He co-founded OpenAI nearly ten years ago, split with the team, and has been clashing with them ever since. He has already sued over OpenAI’s shift from nonprofit ideals to commercial partnerships. Now, with Grok in the market as a direct rival to ChatGPT, the focus has shifted to Apple’s role as gatekeeper. Whether courts agree with Musk that Apple and OpenAI are acting like monopolists is still an open question.
Notes: This post was edited/created using GenAI tools. Image: DIW-Aige
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