Elon Musk’s X and xAI Sue Apple and OpenAI, Alleging Anti-Competitive AI Alliance
Elon Musk’s social media platform X and his AI startup xAI have filed a lawsuit against Apple and OpenAI, accusing them of forming an illegal alliance to stifle competition in the generative artificial intelligence (AI) sector on smartphones. The lawsuit, filed in a Texas federal court, alleges that Apple and OpenAI colluded to integrate the ChatGPT AI assistant into Apple’s iPhones, while excluding rivals like xAI’s Grok.
“This is a story of two monopolies joining forces to ensure their continued dominance in a world now powered by the most powerful technology ever created by humanity: artificial intelligence,” the lawsuit states.
X and xAI claim that Apple controls 65% of the smartphone market in the United States, while OpenAI dominates at least 80% of the generative AI assistant market with ChatGPT. The partnership between Apple and OpenAI, announced in June 2024, integrates ChatGPT into iPhone features, including the Siri voice assistant. According to the lawsuit, this agreement grants ChatGPT exclusive access to “billions of user queries” from hundreds of millions of devices.
Musk also accuses Apple of manipulating the App Store rankings to favor ChatGPT while delaying the approval of Grok updates. His companies are seeking billions of dollars in damages and a permanent injunction to halt the alleged anti-competitive practices.
“Relentless Campaign”
OpenAI responded to the lawsuit, stating, “This new complaint aligns with Mr. Musk’s recurring behavior, characterized by harassment.” Apple has not yet responded to requests for comment.
Musk was part of the founding team of OpenAI in 2015 but left in 2018. Since ChatGPT’s success in late 2022, he has consistently attacked the company on X and in court. He initiated legal action against OpenAI, accusing them of betraying their values, and even offered to acquire the company. OpenAI retaliated in April with a lawsuit accusing Musk of conducting a “relentless campaign” to harm them.
Earlier this month, Musk criticized Apple, stating, “Apple is acting in a way that makes it impossible for any AI company other than OpenAI to reach the top spot on the App Store, which is a clear violation of competition rules.” These accusations led to a heated exchange with OpenAI CEO Sam Altman.
Altman responded, “That’s a remarkable claim, given what I’ve heard about Elon manipulating X for his own benefit and that of his companies and to harm his competitors as well as people he doesn’t like.” Musk retorted that Altman “lies like he breathes,” calling his message “bullshit.”
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