On August 11, billionaire Elon Musk announced that his AI startup, xAI, plans to take legal action against Apple, accusing the company of violating antitrust laws through its management of App Store rankings. Musk claimed that Apple’s practices make it impossible for any AI company other than OpenAI to reach the top spot in the App Store, which he described as a clear antitrust violation. However, Musk did not provide evidence to back up his accusation. Neither Apple, OpenAI, nor xAI responded immediately to Reuters’ requests for comment.

Currently, ChatGPT holds the number one position in the App Store’s "Top Free Apps" category for iPhones in the U.S., while xAI’s Grok ranks fifth, and Google’s Gemini chatbot is placed 57th. ChatGPT also leads in the Google Play Store rankings, according to data from Sensor Tower. Apple has an existing partnership with OpenAI, integrating ChatGPT into its iPhones, iPads, and Macs. Earlier, Musk questioned Apple on social media, asking why neither the X app nor Grok appears in the App Store’s “Must Have” section despite X being the top news app globally and Grok ranking fifth among all apps, implying possible political motives.

Musk’s statements come amid increasing scrutiny from regulators and competitors over Apple’s control of its App Store. In April, a U.S. judge ruled that Apple violated a court order mandating more competition in the App Store and referred the company for a criminal contempt investigation following a lawsuit by Epic Games, the maker of Fortnite. That same month, the European Union fined Apple 500 million euros ($587 million) for imposing technical and commercial restrictions that prevented developers from directing users to cheaper alternatives outside the App Store, violating the Digital Markets Act.