Elon Musk, the CEO of Tesla, has filed a lawsuit against Apple and OpenAI, claiming that Apple has unfairly favored OpenAI. According to reports from Bloomberg and CNBC on the 25th (local time), Musk’s companies, xAI and X, filed the lawsuit in a federal court in Texas. They argue that Apple has disrupted competition in the AI industry by favoring OpenAI, such as installing OpenAI’s AI models on Apple devices.
Additionally, the lawsuit alleges that Apple has excluded competitive apps like xAI’s generative AI chatbot from the top rankings in the App Store. The lawsuit claims, “Apple, in a desperate attempt to protect its smartphone monopoly, has partnered with the company that benefits the most by hindering competition and innovation in the AI market,” and refers to OpenAI as holding a monopolistic position in the generative AI chatbot market.
The companies are seeking billions in damages from Apple and OpenAI and are requesting that the court halt Apple’s and OpenAI’s “illegal contracts.”
Earlier, on the 11th, Musk indicated a potential lawsuit on X, stating, “Apple is acting in a way that no other AI company except OpenAI can reach the top in the App Store. This is a clear antitrust violation.” In response, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman shared Musk’s post on his own X account and sarcastically commented, “Given the claims about Elon manipulating X to benefit himself and his companies and harming competitors and people he dislikes, this is a surprising claim.”
Regarding the lawsuit, an OpenAI spokesperson responded in a statement, saying it aligns with Musk’s “ongoing pattern of harassment.” An Apple spokesperson did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the lawsuit.
Previously, Musk was involved in establishing OpenAI alongside Sam Altman but parted ways. After OpenAI launched ChatGPT, Musk heavily criticized Altman and OpenAI, claiming that the organization abandoned its initial promise to operate as a nonprofit and pursued profit, thereby breaching agreements with investors and others. Consequently, Musk filed a lawsuit against OpenAI and Altman last year.