Elon Musk’s AI company, xAI, has filed a lawsuit against Apple and OpenAI in a Texas federal court, accusing the firms of engaging in anticompetitive practices. In the complaint, submitted on 25 August 2025, xAI and Musk’s X Corp allege that the two companies colluded to block rivals from gaining ground in the AI market, particularly targeting competition against xAI’s Grok chatbot. The case centres on Apple’s partnership with OpenAI, announced in June 2024, which brought ChatGPT integration to the iPhone, iPad and Mac. According to the plaintiffs, this deal has been used to suppress competition within the App Store. The lawsuit claims that Apple sought to protect its 65% share of the smartphone market by aligning with OpenAI, which it accuses of holding a dominant position in the generative AI chatbot sector.
xAI argues that Apple chose ChatGPT as its iPhone’s AI-powered response engine after its own in-house technology failed to meet user expectations. The suit further claims that the exclusivity of the partnership gives OpenAI access to data unavailable to competitors, granting it an unfair advantage. Responding to earlier criticism from Musk, OpenAI’s Chief Executive Sam Altman remarked that it was “remarkable” for Musk to accuse others of manipulation, given that Musk himself allegedly leverages the X platform to benefit his own companies at the expense of rivals. Apple, for its part, has defended its App Store policies as fair and impartial, stressing that they provide space for thousands of applications.
The legal battle marks the latest escalation in Musk and Altman’s long-running feud, which dates back to 2018 when Musk departed from OpenAI, the company he had co-founded in 2015. An OpenAI spokesperson dismissed the lawsuit as part of Musk’s “ongoing pattern of harassment”, pointing to previous legal challenges and a recently filed $97.4 billion hostile takeover offer, which OpenAI argues was intended to disrupt its business partnerships.
Sources:
Annie Palmer
Amanda Silberling
Zoë Schiffer
