Musk to Sue Apple Over App Store Snub

Elon Musk, the billionaire behind SpaceX, Tesla, and X, has announced plans to sue Apple for allegedly refusing to feature X and its AI chatbot app, Grok, in the App Store's top recommended apps. Musk, posting on X late Monday, questioned Apple’s motives, stating, “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 globally and Grok ranks #5 overall? Are you playing politics?”

Grok is developed by Musk’s AI venture, xAI. Musk further claimed that Apple’s practices unfairly favor OpenAI’s ChatGPT, calling it “an unequivocal antitrust violation.” He vowed that xAI would pursue immediate legal action but provided no specific details.

Apple has not responded to the allegations. The company has faced multiple antitrust scrutiny recently, including a federal judge’s ruling that it violated an injunction in a case brought by Epic Games, the maker of Fortnite. In April, the European Union fined Apple €500 million for restricting app developers from promoting cheaper alternatives outside the App Store. Last year, the EU imposed a nearly $2 billion fine on Apple for prioritizing its music streaming service over competitors like Spotify.

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As of Tuesday morning, Apple’s App Store ranked TikTok as the top app, followed by Tinder, Duolingo, YouTube, and Bumble. OpenAI’s ChatGPT held the 7th spot, while neither X nor Grok appeared in the top rankings.

Musk’s threat adds to the growing tensions between tech giants over app store policies, raising questions about fair competition in the digital marketplace.

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