Elon Musk sues Apple, OpenAI, accuses them of ‘thwarting AI competition’

Apple’s decision to integrate OpenAI into the iPhone’s iOS harms competition and deprives consumers of choice, Elon Musk says in a lawsuit.

Updated on: Aug 25, 2025, 21:57:20 IST

Edited by Majid Alam

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Elon Musk has accused Apple Inc. and ChatGPT creator OpenAI in a lawsuit of unfairly favouring the artificial intelligence company across iPhones and thwarting competition for other chatbot makers.

In the lawsuit, xAI said it is seeking billions of dollars in alleged damages. (File/REUTERS)

Musk’s X and xAI filed the lawsuit on Monday in federal court in Fort Worth, Texas, arguing that Apple’s decision to integrate OpenAI into the iPhone’s operating system harms competition and deprives consumers of choice.

The billionaire founder of xAI Holdings, which now houses the Grok AI team and X social network, said Apple makes it impossible for anyone other than OpenAI’s ChatGPT to reach the top of the App Store charts, a sought-after global spotlight for app developers.

The case sets up a high-stakes court showdown between the richest person on the planet and one of the world’s most valuable companies.

Apple and OpenAI—whose ChatGPT service is the most-downloaded free iPhone app in the US—have a partnership around AI built into the latest iPhones. Musk, 54, has a long-running feud with OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, which dates back to disagreements that led to their split after the two founded OpenAI together.

Apple and OpenAI’s “exclusive arrangement has made ChatGPT the only generative AI chatbot integrated into the iPhone”, lawyers for Musk’s companies said in the lawsuit, and “have locked up markets to maintain their monopolies and prevent innovators like X and xAI from competing”.

Apple and OpenAI did not immediately respond to request for comment.

Apple has tangled with regulators around the world in recent years over claims that its app store has illegally squelched competition for mobile apps used on smartphones. The iPhone maker also has been engaged a five-year legal fight with Fortnite maker Epic Games Inc. over the App Store’s dominance of the smartphone software market.

The suit follows an 11 August post on X by Musk, who asked if Apple is “playing politics” by not highlighting his products. Apple responded in a statement that the App Store “is designed to be fair and free of bias”.

Altman responded to Musk’s X post by turning the focus to how Elon Musk manages the X network, suggesting he manipulates it to serve his personal interests.

With inputs from agencies.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Majid Alam
Majid Alam is a Chief Content Producer working at Hindustan Times, based in New Delhi. He currently heads shifts at online desk and manages homepage apart from writing, editing and curating articles. With over six years of experience in journalism, Majid has navigated national, politics and international news. His work primarily focuses on the politics of the Hindi heartland, government policies, and South Asia. He also writes on US and Europe’s policies vis-à-vis India. Before joining Hindustan Times, Majid worked at ABP LIVE as the Chief Copy Editor and at News18, where he managed the World and Explainers sections. His articles have featured in Dialogue Earth, The Quint, BMJ, The Diplomat, and Outlook India. Majid has a keen interest in the use of data for storytelling. Majid holds a Masters in Convergent Journalism from Jamia Millia Islamia. He was awarded the Erasmus+ scholarship to study International Affairs at Sciences Po, Paris in 2020. He is also part of the OCEANS Network, an alumni network of Erasmus+ exchange scholars. He is currently serving as the National Representative (India) at the OCEANS Network. Apart from journalism, Majid has a flair for academic writing and loves to teach. He has published a book chapter: 'Bombay Cinema and Postmodernism' in the book: 'Handbook of Research on Social and Cultural Dynamics in Indian Cinema.' He was also part of the OCEANS Network delegation to Hanoi National University of Education in Vietnam in 2025. He has also given guest lecture in digital journalism at AJK MCRC, Jamia Millia Islamia.Read More

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