This week, Elon Musk went all out on X (formerly Twitter), saying that Apple was committing an unequivocal antitrust violation by favoring ChatGPT on the App Store and leaving aside its own apps, such as X or Grok. Musk even threatened an immediate lawsuit from xAI. Apple responded, in a move that blends corporate defense with a hint of "don't worry, we're still playing fair here."

In a statement reported by Bloomberg, the company said its mission is to provide safe discovery for users and valuable opportunities for developers, collaborating with many to increase visibility in rapidly evolving categories.

Musk publicly complained and threatened to sue Apple because, he said, his app X was number 1 in the News category but never appeared in featured sections of the App Store, and Grok barely reached fifth place overall and second in Productivity, despite being free. ChatGPT, on the other hand, according to Musk, always gets favoritism. Apple responded that its rankings are based on “objective criteria,” expert curation, and algorithms that seek fairness.

Real lawsuit or pure media hype?

Musk promised “immediate legal action,” but so far there’s no sign of a formal lawsuit. He himself tweeted something like, “Apple didn’t just tip the scales, they went all in on it!” and lashed out at what he sees as Apple’s bias toward Open AI. But the world of the App Store isn’t that simple.

There are cases of AI apps that have reached number one, such as Deep Seek in January and Perplexity in India in July 2025. Even Grok could have reached that position after making its Grok-3 version free in February, according to data from Sensor Tower and community notes.

Meanwhile, Sam Altman, CEO of Open AI, took the opportunity to launch another blow: he described Musk's allegations as "interesting," citing previous accusations that Musk had manipulated X's algorithm to favor his own publications and harm competitors. The debate is not just about rankings, but also about digital ethics and platform control.

What's at stake for Apple (and the industry)?

This confrontation revives old tensions that Apple has already faced: litigation such as that with Epic Games (which led to forced changes to its external linking policies), multi-million dollar fines in the European Union, and constant regulatory pressure for its control over the ecosystem. Musk adds another twist to his narrative: he accuses Apple of acting as if it were owned by Open AI. But Apple insists that all rankings, featured lists, and app recommendations are the product of technical criteria, human evaluation, and carefully crafted algorithms, not hand-picked favoritism.

What's also at stake is public perception: Is this a legitimate competitive effort, or a strategy to generate media buzz and protect its xAI brand? And for Apple, in addition to defending its reputation, there's the challenge of maintaining a platform that appears neutral, fair, and safe.