Elon Musk’s xAI and X file antitrust lawsuit against Apple and OpenAI over AI monopoly

Elon Musk’s businesses, xAI and X, launched a broad US antitrust case against Apple and OpenAI on Monday, claiming that the tech giants conspired unlawfully to suppress competition in the smartphone and artificial intelligence industries.

The 61-page complaint, which was filed in a Texas federal court, charges Apple and OpenAI of entering into an exclusive agreement that prevents competitors like xAI’s Grok from using OpenAI’s ChatGPT, the only generative AI chatbot built into Apple’s iPhone operating system.

“This is a tale of two monopolists joining forces to ensure their continued dominance in a world rapidly driven by the most powerful technology humanity has ever created: artificial intelligence,” the lawsuit states.

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According to the plaintiffs, OpenAI owns at least 80% of the market for generative AI chatbots through ChatGPT, while Apple controls 65% of the US smartphone market.

In June 2024, Apple and OpenAI announced their collaboration, enabling ChatGPT to be the only AI helper available via Apple’s Siri voice assistant and other iPhone functionalities.

According to the lawsuit, ChatGPT has unique access to “billions of user prompts” from hundreds of millions of iPhone users as a result of this arrangement.

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Additionally, the complaint alleges that Apple delayed the approval of upgrades for the Grok app while manipulating App Store rankings to favour ChatGPT.

Musk’s businesses are requesting a permanent injuction to halt the claimed anticompetitive acts, along with billions of dollars in damages. They have called for a trial by jury.

“This latest filing is consistent with Mr Musk’s ongoing pattern of harassment,” OpenAI said in a statement to AFP.

Apple did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The lawsuit follows threats Musk made earlier this month that triggered a fiery exchange with OpenAI CEO Sam Altman.

Altman called Musk’s accusation of ranking manipulation “remarkable,” charging that Musk himself “manipulates X to benefit himself and his own companies and harm his competitors and people he doesn’t like.”

Musk called Altman a “liar” in the heated exchange.

Both men were original founders of OpenAI before Musk’s departure in 2018 and now have a highly conflictual relationship.

Musk founded xAI in 2023 to compete with OpenAI and other major AI players that have poured billions of dollars into AI since the blockbuster launch of the first version of OpenAI’s ChatGPT in late 2022.