Elon Musk Challenges Apple’s App Store Practices

Elon Musk has publicly accused Apple of favoring OpenAI’s ChatGPT over his own Grok AI chatbot.

On Monday, Musk shared on X that Tesla’s Grok AI had made it to the top of the Apple App Store’s free news apps. He responded to this announcement with pointed questions.

“Hey @Apple App Store, why would you refuse to put either 𝕏 or Grok in the ‘required’ section? Are you doing politics? What gives?” he asked, adding, “And why is there literally CHATGPT on every list you have editing control?”

Subsequently, an Apple spokesperson told the New York Post, “The app store is designed to be fair and unbiased.”

Last year, during Apple’s Worldwide Developer Conference, OpenAI and Apple revealed a partnership aimed at integrating ChatGPT capabilities into Apple products like iOS, macOS, and Siri, allowing users to access these features seamlessly.

Musk had previously warned, “If Apple integrates OpenAI at the OS level, Apple devices will be banned in my company. That’s an unacceptable security violation.”

In response, OpenAI assured that privacy measures were incorporated when using ChatGPT within Siri, intending to protect user data.

Musk’s recent comments insinuating a collusion between Apple and OpenAI reignite ongoing tensions with OpenAI’s CEO, Sam Altman.

He remarked on X, “Apple is behaving in a way that makes it impossible for non-OpenAI AI companies to reach #1 on the App Store. This is a clear antitrust violation.”

Altman quickly countered that Musk’s claims were unexpected, considering Elon himself had been accused of trying to manipulate the platform to his advantage.

Musk remarked, “You got 3m views on your nonsense posts, even though I have 50 times your followers!”

As tensions escalated on Tuesday, Musk labeled Altman a liar, leading to back-and-forth exchanges where Altman queried whether Musk had ever attempted to alter algorithms to benefit his own interests.

Meanwhile, Apple CEO Tim Cook recently met with President Trump, which comes amidst Apple’s ongoing challenges related to a Justice Department lawsuit from March 2024, where allegations of monopolizing the smartphone market have surfaced.

According to Attorney General Merrick B. Garland, “Apple claims that it is not just ahead of its rivals through merit but also maintains its monopoly in the smartphone market by violating federal antitrust laws.” He further stated that if unchecked, Apple’s dominance would only increase.

The antitrust lawsuit is currently progressing, following a judge’s dismissal of Apple’s attempt to close the case.