Musk Sues Apple and OpenAI in Battle Over AI Dominance

Elon Musk has opened a new front in his war over artificial intelligence, this time taking on both Apple and OpenAI in U.S. federal court.

Filed on August 25, the lawsuit alleges that Apple is conspiring with OpenAI to crush competition in the fast-moving AI market. At the heart of Musk’s complaint: the claim that Apple’s App Store algorithms unfairly boost OpenAI’s ChatGPT while pushing rival apps, including Musk’s own Grok, developed by his xAI startup, to the margins.

Antitrust flashpoint

Musk argues that the arrangement violates U.S. antitrust laws and amounts to an attempt to monopolize the emerging AI marketplace. He is asking the court to order Apple to overhaul its app ranking and recommendation policies, and to scrutinize what he calls a “cozy, anti-competitive partnership” with OpenAI.

Legal experts say the case could set a landmark precedent for how regulators and courts police Big Tech in the age of AI. If Musk prevails, Apple could be forced to open up its App Store in ways that might reverberate across the entire digital economy.

Escalating AI wars

The lawsuit is the latest in Musk’s series of battles against OpenAI, a company he helped found in 2015 before breaking with it in a bitter dispute over its direction and governance. Earlier this year, Musk sued OpenAI separately over alleged violations of its founding mission to remain transparent and non-profit in spirit.

Now, by drawing Apple into the fight, Musk is elevating the clash into a three-way struggle.

For Musk, the lawsuit is as much about narrative as it is about law. He has repeatedly framed Grok as a freer, less censored alternative to ChatGPT, while casting Apple and OpenAI as gatekeepers locking down innovation.

“This is about choice, competition, and the future of AI,” Musk told reporters outside the courthouse.