Elon Musk is embarking on one more costly, however doubtless fruitless, authorized problem towards a market opponent, with Musk’s xAI lodging a lawsuit towards each Apple and OpenAI over alleged market collusion, which is designed, xAI claims, to stifle potential competitors.
Earlier within the month, after the launch of xAI’s newest Grok 4 mannequin, Musk accused Apple of intentionally proscribing promotion of the Grok app, regardless of its clear reputation.
As per Musk:
“Apple is behaving in a way that makes it unimaginable for any AI firm in addition to OpenAI to succeed in #1 within the App Retailer, which is an unequivocal antitrust violation. xAI will take fast authorized motion.”
Which, in fact, is inaccurate.
As many have identified since Musk made this declare (and was even talked about in a Neighborhood Notice on Elon’s X put up), many AI apps have reached the primary spot within the App Retailer rankings, together with Perplexity, DeepSeek and Meta AI.
However for some cause, xAI has launched authorized motion on this foundation both method, alleging that each Apple and OpenAI have “locked up markets to take care of their monopolies and forestall innovators like X and xAI from competing.”
The submitting means that Apple’s partnership with OpenAI has pushed the corporate to angle the market to learn the corporate. Late final yr, Apple reached a deal to combine ChatGPT into its working system for iPhones, iPads, and Macs, and xAI claims that this deal is why Apple is now penalizing xAI in its rankings.
“If not for its unique cope with OpenAI, Apple would haven’t any cause to chorus from extra prominently that includes the X app and the Grok app in its App Retailer.”
Or each X and Grok are simply not as fashionable as Elon thinks. However logic apart, it appears that evidently xAI goes to go forward with its authorized motion on this foundation, which appears unlikely to do something, aside from costing all events extra money.
Although it might additionally backfire on Musk, by prompting Apple to take a more in-depth eye at Elon’s apps, which can not move the App Retailer {qualifications} round grownup content material or safety of youngsters. Certainly, the latest addition of NSFW AI companions on X may very well be due for App Retailer scrutiny, whereas Grok’s latest racist rants may be problematic, if Apple had been inclined to hit again at Musk’s firms.
I imply, final time Elon determined to tackle Apple, over app retailer charges, he shut up fairly fast when Apple knowledgeable him of such dangers.
However he’s evidently prepared to threat it once more, together with his blind hatred for OpenAI seemingly nonetheless motivating him to hunt any retribution he can, towards the corporate that spurned him after he supplied to be its CEO (and OpenAI declined) in its early phases.
So Elon simply retains taking OpenAI to court docket, costing it money and time in defending itself towards his grievances.
Will it work? I’d say that it’s unlikely, on condition that the premise for the case appears fairly simply refuted. However there have to be some logic to Musk’s lawfare strategy, heaping an increasing number of strain onto his opponents, in an effort to each acquire press protection for his companies, and impede their progress with authorized problems.
