Musk Threatens Apple with Legal Action Over App Store Bias

Published Date : 12/08/2025 

Billionaire Elon Musk, owner of SpaceX, Tesla, and X, plans to sue Apple for not featuring X and its Grok AI chatbot app among the top recommended apps in the App Store. 

Billionaire Elon Musk, the owner of SpaceX, Tesla, and X, has announced his intention to sue Apple for not featuring X and its Grok artificial intelligence chatbot app among the top recommended apps in the App Store. Musk posted the comments on X late Monday, expressing his frustration with Apple's decision-making process. n nMusk wrote, “Hey @Apple App Store, why do you refuse to put either X or Grok in your ‘Must Have’ section when X is the 1 news app in the world and Grok is 5 among all apps? Are you playing politics? What gives? Inquiring minds want to know.” Grok is owned by Musk's artificial intelligence startup xAI. n nMusk further stated that “Apple is behaving in a manner that makes it impossible for any AI company besides OpenAI to reach 1 in the App Store, which is an unequivocal antitrust violation. xAI will take immediate legal action.” He did not provide further details on the legal steps that will be taken. n nApple has faced various allegations of antitrust violations in recent years. A federal judge recently found that Apple violated a court injunction in an antitrust case filed by Fortnite maker Epic Games. Regulators of the 27-nation European Union fined Apple 500 million euros in April for breaking competition rules by preventing app makers from pointing users to cheaper options outside its App Store. n nLast year, the EU fined the U.S. tech giant nearly $2 billion for unfairly favoring its own music streaming service by forbidding rivals like Spotify from telling users how they could pay for cheaper subscriptions outside of iPhone apps. n nAs of early Tuesday, the top app in Apple's App Store was TikTok, followed by Tinder, Duolingo, YouTube, and Bumble. Open AI's ChatGPT was ranked 7th. n nApple has not yet commented on Musk's allegations. The company has been under scrutiny for its App Store policies, which many argue favor its own services and limit the visibility of competing apps. Musk's threat of legal action adds another layer of complexity to the ongoing debates surrounding tech giants and antitrust regulations. 

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQS): 

Q: Why is Elon Musk suing Apple?

A: Elon Musk is planning to sue Apple for not featuring X and its Grok AI chatbot app among the top recommended apps in the App Store, which he believes is an antitrust violation.

Q: What is Grok?

A: Grok is an artificial intelligence chatbot app developed by Elon Musk's AI startup, xAI.

Q: What are some of Apple's previous antitrust violations?

A: Apple has faced various antitrust violations, including a recent ruling in a case filed by Fortnite maker Epic Games and a fine from the European Union for breaking competition rules.

Q: What is the current ranking of apps in the Apple App Store?

A: As of early Tuesday, the top apps in the Apple App Store were TikTok, Tinder, Duolingo, YouTube, and Bumble. Open AI's ChatGPT was ranked 7th.

Q: Has Apple responded to Musk's allegations?

A: As of now, Apple has not yet commented on Elon Musk's allegations regarding the App Store. 

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