Elon Musk’s Lawsuit Against Apple and OpenAI

Elon Musk’s companies, X and xAI, have filed a lawsuit accusing Apple and OpenAI of engaging in an “anticompetitive scheme.” This lawsuit was submitted on Monday.

The filing suggests that “this is a tale of two monopolists joining forces to ensure their dominance in a world increasingly shaped by advanced technology: artificial intelligence (AI).” Allegations in the lawsuit claim that Apple and OpenAI are working together to block competitors like X and xAI, effectively maintaining their monopolies.

This legal action follows shortly after Musk threatened legal action against Apple on X. He stated that Apple’s practices are making it difficult for any AI company except OpenAI to attain the #1 position in the App Store, which he believes constitutes a clear antitrust violation. Musk added that xAI would initiate legal proceedings.

The lawsuit notes that OpenAI, which formed a partnership with Apple in June 2024 to incorporate ChatGPT into Apple devices, quickly established dominance in the generative AI chatbot market after introducing ChatGPT in 2022.

“Due to OpenAI’s monopoly, other generative AI chatbots are struggling to capture market share,” the lawsuit claims. Musk emphasizes that xAI’s Grok has not achieved more than a small percentage of the market, despite praise for its advanced features.

According to Musk, the integration of ChatGPT into Apple’s operating system means that iPhone users “have no choice but to use ChatGPT,” even if they would prefer more innovative alternatives like Grok. The lawsuit argues that the exclusive partnership has led to ChatGPT being the only generative AI chatbot able to capitalize on billions of user prompts from hundreds of millions of iPhones.

Furthermore, the complaint alleges that Apple has taken additional actions to safeguard its smartphone monopoly by deprioritizing AI chatbot apps other than OpenAI.

The lawsuit aims for the court to issue a permanent injunction against the companies to prevent similar conduct in the future and seeks monetary damages, with amounts to be decided during the trial.

Musk co-founded OpenAI in 2015 with Sam Altman to contest Google’s dominance in AI but stepped away in 2018, partly due to unsuccessful attempts to integrate OpenAI with Tesla. In 2024, he sued Altman and OpenAI, arguing that they were prioritizing profit over their initial mission of benefiting humanity.

No comments have been received from OpenAI or Apple regarding the lawsuit as of yet. An OpenAI spokesperson, however, labeled Musk’s latest filing as consistent with what they describe as an ongoing pattern of harassment.