Elon Musk Threatens to Take Legal Action Against Apple Over Grok’s Low App Store Ranking

Elon Musk is threatening to sue Apple over an alleged “anitrust violation” in regard to Grok AI’s App Store ranking. Musk claims that the iPhone maker is favouring OpenAI’s ChatGPT.

On X (formerly Twitter), Musk wrote, “Apple is behaving in a manner that makes it impossible for any AI company besides OpenAI to reach #1 in the App Store, which is an unequivocal antitrust violation.” The X and xAI owner continues, “xAI will take immediate legal action.”

Although Musk publicly claims there is some sort of favouritism occurring within Apple, the CEO fails to provide substantial evidence of these claims. The post has since recieved Community Notes, pointing out that DeepSeek reached the #1 overall app on the App Store back in January. This milestone was reached months after Apple and OpenAI announced a partnership.

In June 2024, Apple and OpenAI announced a partnership where the iPhone maker would being integrating ChatGPT across iOS, iPadOS, and macOS. These experiences allow users to better access ChatGPT tools without jumping between apps. Of course, this partnership arrived as Apple is already working on Apple Intelligence and its own deeper use of AI, powering a Siri upgrade. However, said upgrade is rumoured to be delayed until spring of 2026.

Musk is also criticizing Apple for not listing X or Grok apps as “Must Have” software on the App Store. “Are you playing politics? What gives? Inquiring minds want to know,” Musk says.

In Canada, ChatGPT is ranked as the #1 in the ‘Top Free Apps’ section. Grok is then listed in the sixth place with X down in the 62nd spot. For comparison’s sake, Google’s Gemini is in the 46th ranking.

OpenAI’s CEO, Sam Altman, has since commented on Musk’s accusations. In a post, Altman says, “This is a remarkable claim given what I have heard alleged that Elon does to manipulate X to benefit himself and his own companies and harm his competitors and people he doesn’t like.”