Elon Musk has announced plans for his artificial intelligence company xAI to take legal action against Apple, accusing the tech giant of manipulating App Store rankings to favour rival AI applications.
Musk accuses Apple of political bias
In a series of posts on X late on Monday, Musk alleged that Apple was “playing politics” by excluding both X and xAI’s Grok chatbot from the App Store’s recommended iOS apps list. He argued that this amounted to an antitrust violation, claiming Apple was effectively blocking other AI companies, aside from OpenAI, from securing the top position in the App Store rankings.
Hey @Apple App Store, why do you refuse to put either 𝕏 or Grok in your “Must Have” section when 𝕏 is the #1 news app in the world and Grok is #5 among all apps?
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) August 11, 2025
Are you playing politics? What gives? Inquiring minds want to know. https://t.co/3wenLZGtwG
Musk did not provide evidence for his claims, and it remains unclear whether legal proceedings have been initiated.
Unfortunately, what choice do we have?
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) August 12, 2025
Apple didn’t just put their thumb on the scale, they put their whole body! https://t.co/NM7gaLwvyG
Apple responds to allegations
Apple, in a statement reported by Bloomberg and attributed to an unnamed spokesperson, rejected Musk’s accusations, saying: “The App Store is designed to be fair and free of bias… we feature thousands of apps through charts, algorithmic recommendations and curated lists selected by experts using objective criteria.”
According to Apple’s current rankings, ChatGPT holds the top spot among free iPhone apps in the United States, with Grok in sixth place. Musk’s claim that no AI app outside OpenAI could reach the top position was also contradicted earlier this year when China’s DeepSeek AI briefly overtook ChatGPT to become the number one app in January.
History of disputes with Apple and OpenAI
Musk’s criticism of Apple and OpenAI is not a new development. He was one of OpenAI’s early founders but later became a vocal opponent of the company’s shift towards a profit-driven model. This has included previous lawsuits and a failed US$97.4 billion buyout attempt, which was unanimously rejected by the board.
Tensions escalated in 2024 after Apple partnered with OpenAI to integrate ChatGPT into iPhones, iPads, and Macs. At the time, Musk threatened to ban Apple devices from his companies if OpenAI’s technology became embedded in Apple’s operating systems.
Musk himself has faced similar allegations of platform manipulation. After acquiring Twitter, now X, in 2022, a 2024 research study suggested that X’s algorithm was altered to boost Musk’s posts. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman recently highlighted a 2023 Platformer report claiming that Musk had implemented a system to promote his posts across the entire user base.
In June this year, Grok was also found to be consulting Musk’s opinions when answering sensitive questions on controversial topics such as Israel and Palestine, US immigration, and abortion—casting further scrutiny on the platform’s impartiality.
