Elon Musk’s companies have launched a major legal battle against two tech giants, claiming they’ve teamed up to crush competition in the AI world. On August 25, 2025, Musk’s xAI and X filed an antitrust lawsuit against Apple and OpenAI in a Texas federal court, accusing them of working together to maintain dominance in both smartphone and AI chatbot markets.
The lawsuit focuses on Apple’s decision to integrate ChatGPT deeply into iPhone operating systems. Musk’s companies claim this gives OpenAI unfair access to millions of user prompts that help improve their AI models while blocking competitors like Grok from reaching customers effectively.
“This is a tale of two monopolists joining forces,” the lawsuit states, describing how the arrangement allegedly hurts competition. According to the complaint, OpenAI controls about 80% of the AI chatbot market, while Apple holds roughly 65% of the U.S. smartphone market.
The legal filing targets two main issues. First, it claims Apple manipulates App Store rankings to favor OpenAI’s products over rivals like Grok. Second, it argues the ChatGPT integration with Apple’s operating systems creates a default advantage that other AI chatbots can’t match.
Musk’s companies assert that while iPhone users can technically access other AI chatbots through apps or web browsers, these alternatives lack the seamless system-level access granted to ChatGPT. The lawsuit claims this creates a feedback loop where “more users beget more prompts, and more prompts offer more opportunities to train the model, whose better features then attract even more users.”
Similar posts
OpenAI dismissed the lawsuit as “consistent with Mr. Musk’s ongoing pattern of harassment,” while Apple had not provided immediate comment when reports were published.
This legal challenge adds to a growing rift between Musk and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman. Musk co-founded OpenAI with Altman in 2015 but left in 2018 over disagreements about the company’s direction. Last year, Musk sued OpenAI, claiming it betrayed its founding mission by prioritizing profits over developing AI “for the benefit of humanity broadly.”
The case raises important questions about how courts will define AI markets and could impact how default integrations are handled on major technology platforms. It also connects to broader scrutiny of Apple’s App Store practices, which have been the subject of multiple lawsuits.
Several users have pointed out through X’s Community Notes feature that competing AI apps like DeepSeek and Perplexity have previously reached the top spot in App Store rankings since Apple’s partnership with OpenAI was announced, potentially complicating Musk’s claims of unfair treatment.
