Elon Musk Threatens Apple Lawsuit Over App Store Rankings, Igniting Feud with Sam Altman

Elon Musk has escalated his long-running feud with OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, threatening to sue Apple over its App Store ranking system. Musk’s AI startup, xAI, claims that Apple is engaging in “unequivocal antitrust violation” by favoring OpenAI and preventing competitors from reaching the top spot. The billionaire pointed to OpenAI’s ChatGPT holding the number one position while his own Grok app lags at number five. This public accusation has sparked a heated exchange on X between Musk and Altman, with Altman accusing Musk of similar manipulative tactics on his own platform.
The dispute is rooted in a history of animosity between the two tech leaders. Musk, a co-founder of OpenAI, left the company in 2018 after a disagreement over its direction, later suing the company twice. Altman has painted Musk as a disgruntled former partner who is jealous of OpenAI’s success. The recent spat saw Altman challenging Musk to sign an affidavit proving he hasn’t manipulated X’s algorithm to favor his own companies, a claim multiple reports have made against Musk.
While Musk alleges a monopoly, evidence from community notes on X contradicts his claim. Users have pointed out that other AI apps, such as Chinese app DeepSeek and Perplexity, have reached the top spot in various regional App Stores this year. This fact suggests that Apple’s ranking system may not be as biased as Musk claims. Even Grok, xAI’s own chatbot, weighed in on the feud, siding with Altman and stating that “based on verified evidence, Sam Altman is right.”
Musk’s legal threat comes at a time when Apple is already facing intense regulatory scrutiny over its App Store policies. The company was recently fined by the EU for anti-steering provisions and is currently facing a major antitrust lawsuit from the US Department of Justice. The timing of Musk’s statement adds another layer to the mounting pressure Apple is under regarding its control over the mobile app ecosystem.