• Elon Musk's xAI plans to take legal action against Apple for alleged antitrust violations.
• Musk claims Apple makes it impossible for AI competitors like Grok to rank high in the App Store.
• OpenAI CEO Sam Altman counters Musk's claims regarding platform manipulation.

Elon Musk announced on Monday that his artificial intelligence startup, xAI, will take immediate legal action against Apple, accusing the tech giant of breaching antitrust regulations by favoring OpenAI's ChatGPT in App Store rankings. In a post on his social media platform X, Musk stated, “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.” He called for transparency, questioning whether Apple was “playing politics” regarding its editorial choices, especially as OpenAI's ChatGPT holds the top spot on the U.S. App Store for free apps while xAI's Grok is positioned fifth, according to Business Insider, Reuters, and Bangkok Post.

In response, OpenAI's CEO Sam Altman challenged Musk's allegations of favoritism, describing them as "remarkable" given his history of manipulating the X platform's algorithms. Altman suggested that Musk's accusations were an attempt to deflect attention from claims that he had altered X to benefit his own interests and harm competitors. "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," Altman posted on X, as reported by Reuters, HuffPost, and Business Insider.

The ongoing dispute highlights a growing tension between the two billionaires, who co-founded OpenAI but have since diverged on various fronts, particularly regarding AI ethics and corporate strategies. Musk's tension with Altman has intensified following the announcement of legal action, as Musk criticized the favoritism he perceives within Apple's practices. He has demanded that Apple provide clarity on its App Store policies which allegedly disadvantage xAI's products, reports India Times, South China Morning Post, and CBS News.