MNN (Web-Desk); Billionaire Elon Musk declared on Monday that his AI startup, xAI, plans to take legal action against Apple, accusing the tech giant of violating antitrust laws by manipulating App Store rankings.
Musk claims Apple’s policies make it impossible for any AI company other than OpenAI to reach the number one spot in the App Store, calling this an “unequivocal antitrust violation.” He announced this on his social media platform X, though he did not provide evidence to support the accusation.
Currently, OpenAI’s ChatGPT holds the top position in the App Store’s “Top Free Apps” chart for iPhones in the US.
xAI’s Grok ranks fifth, while Google’s Gemini chatbot is at 57th. ChatGPT also leads in rankings on the Google Play Store, according to Sensor Tower data. Apple has a partnership with OpenAI that integrates ChatGPT into its devices, including iPhones, iPads, and Macs.
Earlier on Monday, Musk questioned Apple’s decision not to feature either X or Grok in the App Store’s “Must Have” section, despite X being the world’s number one news app and Grok ranking fifth among all apps. He suggested that Apple might be “playing politics.”
Musk’s criticism comes amid increasing regulatory and competitive scrutiny of Apple’s control over its App Store.
In April, a US judge found Apple in violation of a court order to allow more competition in the App Store and referred the company to federal prosecutors for criminal contempt in a case brought by Fortnite maker Epic Games.
Additionally, Apple was fined €500 million ($587 million) by the European Union for restricting app developers from directing users to cheaper options outside the App Store, violating the Digital Markets Act.
