Elon Musk Says Apple Is Rigging the App Retailer for ChatGPT

Elon Musk has opened a recent entrance in his ongoing feud with Massive Tech.This time he’s focusing on Apple.

On Monday evening, the Tesla and SpaceX CEO accused the iPhone maker of antitrust violations, claiming its App Retailer insurance policies put his AI chatbot Grok, developed by xAI, at an obstacle in comparison with rivals, significantly OpenAI’s ChatGPT. “Apple is behaving in a fashion that makes it unimaginable for any AI firm in addition to OpenAI to succeed in #1 within the App Retailer, which is an unequivocal antitrust violation,” Musk posted on X (previously Twitter). “xAI will take fast authorized motion.”

Apple is behaving in a fashion that makes it unimaginable for any AI firm in addition to OpenAI to succeed in #1 within the App Retailer, which is an unequivocal antitrust violation.

xAI will take fast authorized motion.

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) August 12, 2025

Musk didn’t elaborate on the authorized technique or affirm whether or not a lawsuit is already in movement. However his public offensive had begun earlier within the night, as if he have been constructing a case earlier than a jury.

“Hey @Apple App Retailer, why do you refuse to place both 𝕏 or Grok in your ‘Should Have’ part when 𝕏 is the #1 information app on this planet and Grok is #5 amongst all apps?” he wrote in one other publish. “Are you taking part in politics? What offers? Inquiring minds wish to know.”

A fast examine by Gizmodo discovered that ChatGPT is presently the No. 1 free app within the U.S. iOS App Retailer and the one AI chatbot featured in Apple’s “Should-Have Apps” part.

Musk sees that as proof of bias, and he’s tying it to Apple’s deeper ties with OpenAI. “And why is ChatGPT actually in each checklist the place you could have editorial management?” he added in one more publish.

Apple and OpenAI introduced a partnership in June 2024 to combine ChatGPT into iPhones, iPads, and Macs by means of Siri and system-wide writing instruments. The deal gave OpenAI’s chatbot unprecedented visibility and direct entry to a whole bunch of thousands and thousands of Apple customers.

And why is ChatGPT actually in each checklist the place you could have editorial management?

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) August 12, 2025

Musk, who co-founded OpenAI in 2015 however left the corporate three years later after a falling-out, has since grow to be one in all its fiercest critics. His AI firm, xAI, launched Grok in late 2023, branding it as an “edgy” various to mainstream chatbots. Grok is built-in straight into X, the social platform Musk acquired in 2022.

The spat with Apple provides to Musk’s rising checklist of AI-related battles,  together with lawsuits, public feuds with former allies, and frequent claims that opponents are politically biased.

A New Antitrust Battleground

Musk’s risk marks the opening salvo in what might grow to be a significant new antitrust combat. Apple has lengthy confronted scrutiny and lawsuits  from builders equivalent to Epic Video games, in addition to regulators within the U.S. and Europe, who argue that its iron grip on the App Retailer quantities to an unlawful monopoly.

Now, Musk is repurposing those self same arguments for the AI period. His criticism targets the core of Apple’s App Retailer energy: the power to anoint winners and bury rivals by means of editorial curation and promotion. For an upstart like xAI, being sidelined whereas a competitor enjoys premium placement could be deadly.

In Musk’s view, Apple’s promotion of ChatGPT is a part of a comfy, doubtlessly anti-competitive relationship with OpenAI.

Apple didn’t instantly reply to Gizmodo’s request for remark.

Our Take

It’s Musk’s traditional robust arm transfer. He’s carried out it earlier than, yell loud sufficient, play the bully, and power your rival to the desk. Now the query is whether or not Apple takes the bait or calls his bluff.