Elon Musk has accused Apple of fixing its App Store rankings so that ChatGPT appears as number one and says he will pursue legal action. Musk is the CEO of artificial intelligence company xAI, which developed the Grok chatbot.
“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,” Musk wrote on X. “xAI will take immediate legal action.”
Currently, ChatGPT is number one on Apple’s list of top free iPhone apps on the US App Store, while Grok is in sixth place. The next AI app on the list is Google Gemini, which ranks 60th.
Musk did not provide any evidence to support his claim that Apple is making it impossible for OpenAI’s competitors to rank in first place. According to the analytics firm Sensor Tower, the ChatGPT iOS app was downloaded 28 million times in the last month, while the Grok iOS app was downloaded 4 million times. Grok only sits at number 14 on the Top Free Apps list on Google Play Store, while ChatGPT holds the top spot.
In response to the accusation, an Apple spokesperson told Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman: “The App Store is designed to be fair and free of bias. We feature thousands of apps through charts, algorithmic recommendations, and curated lists selected by experts using objective criteria.
“Our goal is to offer safe discovery for users and valuable opportunities for developers, collaborating with many to increase app visibility in rapidly evolving categories.”
Nevertheless, in 2019, a Wall Street Journal investigation found Apple’s own apps often ranked above competitors’ offerings, even when they were less popular or had lower ratings. Apple later acknowledged that its search algorithm had grouped multiple Apple apps together, inadvertently boosting their visibility, and said it had since made changes.
Musk is not a fan of Apple and OpenAI’s partnership
Musk is likely alluding to Apple showing favouritism toward OpenAI because of a partnership the two companies have maintained since June 2024. A ChatGPT integration was added to Siri with iOS 18.2 last November, allowing requests that can’t be handled on-device to be forwarded to the chatbot. Apple is also reportedly planning to rebuild Siri from scratch using an LLM-based engine and add AI to Safari’s search capabilities, both of which could utilise an OpenAI model.
In addition, Musk has been embroiled in a feud with OpenAI since stepping down from its board in the late 2010s, citing disagreements over its leadership direction, which have manifested in various lawsuits. OpenAI and xAI did not immediately respond to requests for comment from Reuters.
OpenAI’s CEO Sam Altman responded to Musk’s accusation on X: “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.”
Musk to Apple: ‘Are you playing politics?’
This is not the first time Musk has taken aim at Apple this week. On Monday, Musk posted on X, “Hey @Apple App Store, why do you refuse to put either 𝕏 or Grok in your “Must Have” section when 𝕏 is the #1 news app in the world and Grok is #5 among all apps? Are you playing politics? What gives? Inquiring minds want to know.”
While Apple generally avoids overtly partisan politics, Musk has previously held a very close relationship with US President Donald Trump and is a staunch advocate for “free speech.”
When he acquired X — then Twitter — in 2022, Musk significantly altered content moderation processes and reinstated banned accounts to combat what he referred to as censorship on the platform, despite it leading to a surge in misinformation and hate speech. The chatbot Grok, described by xAI as providing “unfiltered answers,” also repeatedly gets itself into political hot water.
Apple’s history with anticompetitive practices
Regulators worldwide are investigating Apple’s alleged anticompetitive practices related to the App Store. In April, a US district judge ruled that Tim Cook’s firm must stop taking 27% commissions on in-app purchases made through external links to third-party websites, also known as “link-outs,” and its attempt to pause this ruling was rejected in June.
Apple argued that allowing app makers to direct users to third-party sites to collect payments could compromise the security of the apps and devices. However, “Fortnite” creator Epic Games said the fee discouraged developers from offering alternative payment options outside Apple’s ecosystem.
This week, Epic Games won a similar legal dispute in Australia as judges also found that Apple’s actions regarding alternative payment options, as well as its restrictions on third-party app stores, were anticompetitive.
The European Commission fined Apple €500 million for not allowing app developers to freely steer users toward external purchasing options, a decision that Apple is appealing. It was also fined €1.84 billion in 2024 for imposing anti-steering provisions on music streaming apps. Nevertheless, Apple has made some changes in response to other EU demands that give users more control over default apps, browser choice, and pre-installed apps.
In the UK, Apple is subject to bespoke conduct requirements designed to curb anticompetitive practices because it and Google hold an “effective duopoly” on mobile ecosystems. The country’s Competition and Markets Authority reviewed App Store search ranking practices as part of the market study behind these rules.
Elon Musk says that AI can’t replace consultants because they won’t “confirm the decision (businesses) were going to make anyway” and act as “someone else to blame if it goes wrong.”