Musk Threatens Legal Action Against Apple Over Alleged App Store Bias
Elon Musk has accused Apple (AAPL) of anticompetitive conduct, alleging that the App Store has refused to feature both his social media platform X and his AI chatbot Grok in its top app promotions. In a series of posts on X, Musk said Apple’s actions amount to “an unequivocal antitrust violation” and warned that his AI firm, xAI, would take “immediate legal action” to address the issue. “Why do you refuse to put either X or Grok in your ‘Must Have’ section when X is the #1 news app in the world and Grok is #5 among all apps?” Musk wrote, accusing Apple of “playing politics” with its rankings. He also questioned why rival ChatGPT, run by OpenAI, appeared in multiple curated lists. Apple partnered with OpenAI in 2024 to integrate its technology into Apple Intelligence, a feature embedded in Siri for content generation and device tasks. Apple says the App Store is “highly curated” with human and automated oversight. Musk, who co-founded OpenAI in 2015 but left over strategic disputes, has an ongoing lawsuit against the company, seeking to block its transition to a for-profit model. That case is scheduled for trial in March 2026. Apple has not responded to requests for comment on Musk’s allegations.