Elon Musk sues Apple and OpenAI citing blocked chatbot competition
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The news: Elon Musk’s xAI and X Corp have sued Apple and OpenAI in US federal court in Texas, accusing them of illegally conspiring to thwart competition for artificial intelligence.
According to court documents cited by media, the lawsuit alleges Apple’s partnership with OpenAI makes ChatGPT the only generative AI chatbot integrated into the iPhone, giving it exclusive access to billions of user prompts and feedback.
Musk’s companies claim Apple deprioritises competing chatbots in its App Store rankings, harming innovation and preventing rivals like X and xAI from competing.
What they said: An OpenAI spokesperson told media “this latest filing is consistent with Mr Musk’s ongoing pattern of harassment.”
Apple has not commented yet.
The context: Elon Musk co-founded OpenAI with Sam Altman a decade ago but later split with the company over disagreements. He launched xAI less than two years ago and acquired X in March 2025 for USD33 billion partly to support chatbot training. Musk is suing OpenAI and Altman separately in California to challenge its transition from a nonprofit to a for-profit entity.
Meanwhile, Musk has integrated xAI’s Grok chatbot into Tesla vehicles and is competing with OpenAI and others in generative AI. Apple has been criticised globally for its App Store practices and has been in a long-running legal dispute with Fortnite maker Epic Games.
In March 2023, the US Justice Department sued Apple, alleging it monopolised the smartphone market by blocking rivals from accessing hardware and software features.
The numbers: The suit seeks billions of dollars in damages and a court order to stop the alleged “illegal arrangement,” according to the reports.
The sources: The Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg, Reuters
