Elon Musk’s companies, X and xAI, have filed a federal lawsuit in Texas against Apple and OpenAI, accusing the two tech giants of colluding to stifle competition in the fast-growing artificial intelligence market. The filing challenges Apple’s 2024 decision to integrate OpenAI’s ChatGPT into its iOS operating system, an exclusive partnership Musk’s firms claim has unfairly tilted the market in OpenAI’s favor.
The lawsuit marks the latest escalation in Musk’s rivalry with OpenAI, the company he co-founded alongside Sam Altman in 2015 before parting ways amid strategic disagreements. Musk has since criticized Altman for straying from OpenAI’s founding mission of serving the public good, and has launched his own AI ventures, including xAI and Grok, a chatbot competitor.
In the complaint, Musk’s companies argue there is “no valid business reason” for Apple and OpenAI’s exclusive deal. They allege the partnership has deprived rival chatbots of scale, reduced innovation, and handed OpenAI privileged access to the prompts and usage data of millions of Apple users. The lawsuit further claims the integration boosted ChatGPT’s visibility and downloads on the App Store, squeezing out competitors.
“Apple and OpenAI’s arrangement has foreclosed competition among generative AI chatbots,” the filing states, accusing both firms of leveraging their market dominance to maintain monopolistic control. OpenAI currently holds about 80% of the U.S. generative AI chatbot market, according to the lawsuit, while Apple controls roughly 65% of the smartphone market.
Apple has not yet responded to the lawsuit, though it has previously defended its App Store practices as “fair and free of bias.” OpenAI, meanwhile, dismissed the case as part of Musk’s “ongoing pattern of harassment.”
The dispute comes as Apple reportedly explores additional AI partnerships, including discussions with Google to integrate its Gemini chatbot into Siri. The case adds to growing scrutiny of Big Tech’s influence over the AI ecosystem, following high-profile antitrust battles involving Google and other industry leaders.
As AI becomes increasingly embedded in consumer devices, the outcome of Musk’s legal challenge could shape how competition in the sector unfolds and whether smaller players can secure room to grow.
