Tech billionaire Elon Musk has accused Apple of giving preferential treatment to OpenAI on its App Store, claiming the iPhone maker’s ranking system makes it nearly impossible for other AI companies to compete.
Musk Claims Apple Gives OpenAI an Unfair Advantage
On Tuesday, Elon Musk, founder of xAI Holdings and owner of X (formerly Twitter), alleged that Apple’s App Store ranking algorithm unfairly boosts OpenAI’s visibility, keeping its ChatGPT app at the No. 1 spot among free iPhone apps.
Musk described Apple’s actions as “playing politics” and labelled the alleged behaviour as an antitrust violation. He warned that xAI will take immediate legal action to challenge Apple’s practices.
“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,” Musk posted.
OpenAI’s Response to Musk’s Allegations
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman dismissed Musk’s claims and responded with a pointed remark about Musk’s own business practices on X.
“This is a remarkable claim given what I have heard alleged that Elon does to manipulate X to benefit himself and his own companies and harm his competitors and people he doesn’t like,” Altman wrote.
Altman added that OpenAI will remain focused on creating great products rather than engaging in public disputes.
The Bigger Picture: Apple’s AI Push at WWDC 2025
The dispute comes shortly after Apple announced a deeper partnership with OpenAI at its Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) in June 2025.
Key updates from Apple’s AI strategy include:
- Live translation in Messages, Phone, and FaceTime for multilingual conversations.
- Visual Intelligence in iOS 26 to analyse images and text on-screen.
- ChatGPT integration for additional information about images or text.
- Seamless Google image search directly from iOS.
These features mark Apple’s strongest AI push yet, aimed at competing with Microsoft, Google, and other tech giants.
Ongoing Feud Between Musk and Altman
The rivalry between Elon Musk and Sam Altman dates back to their time as co-founders of OpenAI, before Musk left over strategic disagreements. Since then, their exchanges have often turned public and personal.
The App Store controversy adds a new chapter to this long-running tech feud, which has also drawn attention to Big Tech’s control over app discovery and competition.
What This Means for App Developers
Musk’s legal threat could intensify ongoing antitrust debates around Apple’s App Store policies, potentially impacting how apps are ranked and discovered globally.
For now, OpenAI’s ChatGPT remains the No. 1 free iPhone app, while Musk’s Grok AI chatbot holds the fifth spot.
