Apple Faces Antitrust Allegations from xAI’s Elon Musk

Apple (AAPL) is facing renewed antitrust scrutiny after Elon Musk, CEO of xAI, publicly accused the tech giant of anti-competitive behavior related to its App Store policies.

Musk's allegations, made via social media platform X, center on the claim that Apple is unfairly favoring OpenAI's ChatGPT, hindering other AI companies' ability to compete effectively within the App Store ecosystem.

Musk specifically pointed to the exclusion of xAI's chatbot, Grok, and social media platform, X, from Apple's “Must Have” apps section, despite their popularity. He questioned whether Apple was “playing politics” by not highlighting these apps, fueling speculation that Apple's close partnership with OpenAI is influencing its App Store curation. Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI, has dismissed Musk's claims, further complicating the narrative.

The allegations come at a time when Apple's App Store practices are already under intense regulatory pressure.

A U.S. judge previously ruled that Apple violated a court order related to alternative payment methods, and the European Union's Digital Markets Act is specifically targeting “self-preferencing” within app stores. These existing challenges amplify the potential impact of Musk's antitrust claims.

The timing of Musk's public statement is also noteworthy. Apple has increasingly integrated ChatGPT into its core product offerings, including iPhones, iPads, and Macs.

This deepening partnership with OpenAI has raised eyebrows, particularly given Musk's history with the company, which he co-founded in 2015 before departing in 2018.

Apple has not commented on the reports, and at this stage the stock is largely unmoved, with recent sentiment growing more bullish after a difficult start to the year. Down 6.84% YTD, Apple will likely face bigger challenges in the AI space than that likely to result from Mr Musk's comments.