Elon Musk Targets Apple Over App Store Bias Allegations, Says, “Stop Playing Politics”

Billionaire Elon Musk announced on Monday that his AI startup, xAI, will take legal action against Apple, accusing the tech giant of violating antitrust laws through its App Store ranking practices. Musk claimed, “Apple is behaving in a manner that makes it impossible for any AI company besides OpenAI to reach #1 in the App Store, which is an unequivocal antitrust violation.” He added, “xAI will take immediate legal action,” in a post on X.

Elon Musk has accused Apple of unfairly favouring OpenAI in its App Store rankings, but has not provided evidence to back the claim. Neither Apple, OpenAI, nor Musk’s xAI responded to media requests for comment. According to Sensor Tower data, OpenAI’s ChatGPT currently tops the US iPhone free app charts, while xAI’s Grok sits in fifth place and Google’s Gemini chatbot is ranked 57th. ChatGPT is also the only AI chatbot listed in Apple’s “Must-Have Apps” section, something Musk has publicly criticised.

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Musk pointed out that Apple’s “Must-Have” list omits both X and Grok, despite X being “the #1 news app in the world” and Grok ranking “#5 among all apps.” He questioned whether Apple was “playing politics,” linking the omission to the company’s partnership with OpenAI, which has integrated ChatGPT into iPhones, iPads, and Macs. The comments escalate Musk’s ongoing feud with OpenAI, which he co-founded in 2015 but left in 2018. He is already suing the Microsoft-backed company and CEO Sam Altman, alleging they have abandoned their original mission to serve humanity.

Grok’s surge to fifth place comes shortly after OpenAI unveiled its GPT-5 model and about a month after xAI released Grok 4. The app’s momentum underscores Musk’s push to challenge OpenAI’s dominance in AI-powered chatbots, even as Apple continues to promote ChatGPT as a key integration in its ecosystem.

Apple’s App Store has faced mounting regulatory pressure. In April, a US judge ruled the company violated a court order to allow more competition and referred the case, brought by Fortnite maker Epic Games, to prosecutors for possible contempt charges. The EU fined Apple €500 million earlier this year for breaching the Digital Markets Act, and in the US, the Justice Department is suing Apple over alleged monopoly practices in the iPhone ecosystem. In June, a panel of judges rejected Apple’s attempt to delay changes to its App Store rules, which would ban certain commission fees and restrictions on payment links.

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