Elon Musk Accuses Apple of Favoring ChatGPT, Warns of Legal Action; Altman Hits Back

The war over artificial intelligence is intensifying, with Elon Musk once again stepping into the fray, this time targeting Apple. The billionaire has made serious accusations against Apple, claiming the company is giving unfair preference to OpenAI’s ChatGPT while sidelining X and its AI app.

Musk has accused Apple of unfairly boosting OpenAI’s ChatGPT to the top spot in the App Store, calling it “an unequivocal antitrust violation.” The Tesla and xAI CEO said on X (formerly Twitter) that Apple’s actions make it “impossible for any AI company besides OpenAI to reach #1” in the store’s rankings.

“Apple is behaving in a manner that makes it impossible for any AI company besides OpenAI to reach #1 in the App Store, which is an unequivocal antitrust violation,” he posted on X. 

Musk claimed his AI company, xAI, would take “immediate legal action” against Apple over the alleged bias. His statement comes amid growing competition in the AI space, where Musk’s Grok competes with OpenAI’s ChatGPT and Google’s Gemini.

Republic Media checked the App Store listings Musk mentioned. In the “Incredible iPhone Apps,” “Must-Have Apps,” and “India’s Favourite Apps” categories, ChatGPT consistently appears in the list. We did not find Grok or X (formerly Twitter) in these sections, though other AI and utility apps like Canva, Google Gemini, Truecaller, and Airbnb were visible.

Apple has not commented on the allegation. The company has previously faced scrutiny over its App Store policies, including ranking algorithms and claims of favouritism towards certain apps.

Musk’s comments add another chapter to his ongoing feud with OpenAI, which he co-founded in 2015 but left in 2018, and with major tech firms that he believes have too much control over AI distribution and visibility.

Altman Responds

In response to Elon Musk’s recent swipe at him and OpenAI, CEO Sam Altman fired back, saying:

“This is a remarkable claim, given what I’ve heard alleged about how Elon manipulates X to benefit himself and his companies, while harming competitors and people he doesn't like.”

Altman also referenced a report titled “Yes, Elon Musk Created a Special System for Showing You All His Tweets First,” adding:

“I hope someone will get counter-discovery on this. I—and many others—would love to know what's really been happening. In the meantime, OpenAI will stay focused on building great products.”

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