Elon Musk has announced that his company, xAI, which operates the social media platform X and the AI chatbot Grok, plans to take legal action against Apple, accusing the tech giant of antitrust violations over how it orders App Store rankings.
In a series of posts on X Monday night, Musk questioned why neither X (which he calls “the #1 news app in the world”) nor Grok (ranking around fifth in the “Top Free Apps”) appear in Apple’s “Must Have” section. He demanded answers, asking: “Are you playing politics? What gives?”
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Musk further alleged that Apple is deliberately making it impossible for any AI company besides OpenAI to reach #1 in the App Store, calling it “an unequivocal antitrust violation” and announcing that xAI will launch “immediate legal action.”
Currently, ChatGPT tops the App Store’s Top Free Apps list in the U.S., while Grok holds the fifth spot, with other competitors like Google’s Gemini trailing far behind, Reuters reported.
Apple made no immediate comment. The company has previously faced regulatory scrutiny for similar practices. In April, a U.S. court found Apple in violation of its own injunction agreements in an antitrust case brought by Fortnite maker Epic Games.
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That same month, European regulators fined Apple €500 million for placing restrictions that hindered developers from guiding users to alternative, cheaper payment options outside of the App Store.
Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI, responded to Musk’s claims by suggesting Musk manipulates app visibility on X to benefit his own companies
