Musk initiates legal action against Apple over exclusion from App Store dispute
In a recent turn of events, Elon Musk, the CEO of Tesla and founder of xAI, has threatened to sue Apple for alleged antitrust violations related to the ranking system of apps in the App Store. Musk claims that Apple is favoring OpenAI's ChatGPT, making it impossible for any AI company besides OpenAI to reach the top spots, which he considers an "unequivocal antitrust violation."
The dispute began when Musk publicly questioned on Twitter why Apple refuses to list his apps, X (the world's number one news app) and Grok (his AI chatbot currently ranked sixth among free apps on the App Store), in the App Store's "Must Have" or top sections. This implies that Apple may be engaging in political or anti-competitive behavior.
It is important to note that Apple has faced previous antitrust scrutiny, including EU fines totaling £371million in July for breaching competition rules regarding app developers and directing consumers outside its own platform. The EU ruled that Apple prevented app developers from directing consumers outside its own platform.
OpenAI’s ChatGPT remains top-ranked on Apple's App Store, despite Musk’s complaints. In response, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman dismissed Musk’s claims and highlighted Musk’s own alleged manipulations of X to favor his businesses.
As of now, Apple has made no public comment on Musk’s threats, and no formal lawsuit details or outcomes have been reported. This remains an ongoing dispute rooted in concerns over Apple’s App Store policies and AI app rankings.
Meanwhile, Musk's AI startup, xAI, which develops the chatbot Grok, is currently enjoying success. Grok is the sixth most downloaded free app on the App Store.
Interestingly, this is not the first public disagreement for Musk. He has also had a spat with former ally US President Donald Trump.
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