Musk firms sue Apple and OpenAI, alleging they hurt competition

Elon Musk, the well-known entrepreneur behind companies like X and xAI, has taken legal action against Apple and OpenAI, claiming that their partnership is unfair and hurts competition. The lawsuit was filed in Texas by Musk's companies, X and xAI, and it focuses on Apple's decision to integrate OpenAI's chatbot, ChatGPT, into the operating systems of its smartphones. Musk's companies argue that this exclusive arrangement violates competition laws and makes it difficult for other AI chatbots to compete.

The lawsuit states that there is no valid business reason for Apple and OpenAI to have an exclusive deal. Musk's companies believe that this partnership gives OpenAI special access to millions of Apple users' prompts and activities, which is not available to other chatbot companies. They also claim that the deal gives ChatGPT an advantage in the App Store, making it easier for people to download it compared to other generative AI chatbots. According to the lawsuit, this has led to less competition, lower quality, and less innovation in the AI chatbot market. Musk's companies say that Apple and OpenAI are using their power to maintain monopolies in their respective markets.

OpenAI currently controls about 80% of the generative AI chatbot market in the US, while Apple has around 65% of the smartphone market. The lawsuit points out that Apple's partnerships with other tech giants and its App Store practices have been the subject of many legal battles, including a major anti-monopoly case against Google. Apple has defended its App Store rules in the past, saying they are fair and unbiased. Despite the dominance of ChatGPT, other chatbots like DeepSeek and Perplexity have also reached the top of the App Store charts since 2024. Apple has even been in talks with Google about using its Gemini chatbot to improve Siri, its voice assistant. Musk and Sam Altman, who co-founded OpenAI in 2015, are now rivals, with Musk accusing Altman of moving OpenAI away from its original mission. Musk has launched his own AI companies, such as xAI and Grok, to compete with OpenAI. The outcome of this lawsuit could have a big impact on the future of AI chatbots and competition in the tech industry.