Elon Musk vs Sam Altman: Apple issues statement, rejects Musk's App Store claims

Apple has denied accusations from X and xAI founder Elon Musk that it is giving preferential treatment to OpenAI in its App Store rankings. In a statement to Bloomberg, the company said the App Store is “designed to be fair and free of bias”, adding that it features “thousands of apps through charts, algorithmic recommendations and curated lists selected by experts using objective criteria”. Apple said its aim is to provide “safe discovery for users and valuable opportunities for developers” while working with many to boost app visibility in fast-evolving categories.

Musk, in a series of posts on X, accused Apple of committing an “unequivocal antitrust violation” by allegedly favouring OpenAI and making it harder for other AI firms to appear prominently in the store. He claimed Apple had refused to feature X or xAI’s chatbot Grok in its “Must Have” section, despite X being “the #1 news app in the world” and Grok ranking fifth overall. “Are you playing politics? What gives?” Musk wrote, threatening immediate legal action.

He did not provide evidence to support his allegations. Other AI apps, including China’s DeepSeek and US-based Perplexity, have topped Apple’s rankings in recent months, well after Apple announced its partnership with OpenAI.

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman responded on X, calling Musk’s remarks a “remarkable claim” and suggesting that Musk has been accused of using his own platform to benefit his companies and disadvantage rivals. Musk later replied: “Scam Altman lies as easily as he breathes.”

Apple’s emphasis on “safe discovery” has been interpreted by some as a veiled reference to controversies surrounding Grok’s responses, which have reportedly included uncensored and offensive content.