Elon Musk Says He’s Suing Apple For Rigging App Store Rankings

There’s a sore loser successful this fame contest.

Elon Musk says that his artificial intelligence institution xAI “will return contiguous ineligible action” against Apple for allegedly manipulating its App Store rankings to nan advantage of rival AI apps. In a bid of X posts connected Monday night, Musk suggested that Apple was “playing politics” by not placing either X aliases xAI’s Grok chatbot successful nan App Store’s database of recommended iOS apps, and that he had nary choice but to record a lawsuit.

“Apple is behaving successful a mode that makes it intolerable for immoderate AI institution too OpenAI to scope #1 successful nan App Store, which is an unequivocal antitrust violation,” Musk said. “Why do you garbage to put either X aliases Grok successful your ‘Must Have’ conception erstwhile X is nan #1 news app successful nan world and Grok is #5 among each apps?,” nan xAI CEO asked Apple successful different post, which is now pinned to his profile.

Musk provided nary grounds for his claims, and it’s unclear if he has made bully connected his threats and revenge nan suit yet. The Verge has reached retired to xAI, Apple, and OpenAI for comment.

At nan clip of writing, ChatGPT is listed arsenic Apple’s apical free iPhone app successful nan US, pinch Grok classed arsenic nan sixth. China’s DeepSeek AI concisely managed to return nan apical App Store position from ChatGPT successful January, however, disproving Musk’s declare that it would beryllium intolerable for different AI apps to do so.

Accusations of meddling from Musk are ironic, fixed allegations astir alterations made to X aft he acquired nan institution successful 2022, past known arsenic Twitter. A investigation study successful 2024 suggested that X’s algorithm was manipulated to boost posts from Musk’s account. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman responded to Musk’s posts by sharing a Platformer study from 2023 that likewise recovered Musk had a strategy built to beforehand his X posts to nan full platform’s userbase. In June, nan “maximally truth-seeking” Grok chatbot was besides recovered to beryllium consulting Musk’s opinion earlier providing answers to arguable questions astir topics for illustration Israel and Palestine, US immigration, and abortion.

This isn’t nan first clip that Musk has beefed pinch Apple and OpenAI. Musk was an early laminitis astatine OpenAI, and previously targeted nan AI startup via lawsuits and a unanimously rejected $97.4 cardinal buyout connection aft taking rumor pinch its pivot to being a profit-driven business. Following OpenAI’s business pinch Apple to merge ChatGPT into iPhones, iPads, and Macs past year, Musk threatened to prohibition Apple devices astatine his companies if OpenAI’s tech was fused pinch Apple’s OS.