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xAI\u2019s lawsuit accusing Apple and OpenAI of anticompetitive practices has less to do with Grok\u2019s App Store visibility, and more to do with a fixation Musk has had since he first acquired Twitter. Here are the details.<\/p>\n
A bit of context<\/p>\n
Last July, xAI released Grok 4, rolled out the Grok Imagine tool, and introduced customizable companion chatbots. This helped the Grok app climb from 60th place in the App Store ranking to 29th, according to historical data from AppFigures.<\/p>\n
A few days after that, xAI made Grok 4 available for free to all users worldwide, which helped it rise to 5th place. That frustrated Elon Musk, who accused Apple of intentionally sandbagging Grok\u2019s visibility in the App Store. The claim was immediately refuted by X\u2019s own users:<\/p>\n
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. <\/p>\n
xAI will take immediate legal action.<\/p>\n
\u2014 Elon Musk (@elonmusk) August 12, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n Following denials<\/a> by both Apple and Sam Altman in the name of OpenAI, Musk actually filed<\/a> the lawsuit, which is introduced as follows:<\/p>\n 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 (\u201cAI\u201d). Working in tandem, Defendants Apple and OpenAI have locked up markets to maintain their monopolies and prevent innovators like X and xAI from competing. Plaintiffs bring this suit to stop Defendants from perpetrating their anticompetitive scheme and to recover billions in damages.<\/p>\n In the complaint summary, xAI alleges the following:<\/p>\n [\u2026] Apple forecloses rivals in the Apple App Store by limiting the discoverability of OpenAI\u2019s rivals and promoting ChatGPT in Apple\u2019s featured \u201cMust-Have Apps\u201d list, over which Apple exercises editorial control. Plaintiffs allege that Defendants\u2019 conduct forecloses competition in the markets for smartphone devices and generative AI chatbots.<\/p>\n xAI goes on to argue that Apple missed the boat on AI, so \u201cin a desperate bid to protect its smartphone monopoly, [\u2026] has joined forces with the company that most benefits from inhibiting competition and innovation in AI: OpenAI, a monopolist in the market for generative AI chatbots.\u201d<\/p>\n They also claim that, in addition to \u201cdeprioritizing the apps of competing generative AI chatbots and super apps in its App Store rankings,\u201d:<\/p>\n Apple and OpenAI\u2019s exclusive arrangement has made ChatGPT the only generative AI chatbot integrated into the iPhone. This means that if iPhone users want to use a generative AI chatbot for key tasks on their devices, they have no choice but to use ChatGPT, even if they would prefer to use more innovative and imaginative products like xAI\u2019s Grok.<\/p>\n What the filings show<\/p>\n Despite Apple and OpenAI\u2019s attempts to get the lawsuit dismissed, US District Judge Mark Pittman recently decided<\/a> that he wants to see more evidence before ruling one way or the other.<\/p>\n In the days that followed, xAI filed two interesting requests seeking documents from foreign companies: South Korea\u2019s Kakao Corporation<\/a>, developer of the KakaoTalk super app, and Alipay<\/a>, which operates its own namesake super app.<\/p>\n In both letters, xAI alleges the following:<\/p>\n Super apps allow customers to switch away from the iPhone, and [\u2026] the exclusive agreement between Apple and OpenAI protects Apple\u2019s monopoly and keeps iPhone prices high.<\/p>\n [\u2026] Apple\u2019s conduct illegally restrains competition from \u201csuper apps\u201d: multi-functional platforms that offer many of the services of smartphones, such as social connectivity and messaging, financial services, e-commerce, and entertainment. [KakaoTalk\/Alipay] is a super app that combines messaging, banking, payments, navigation, and ride-sharing functionality. Plaintiffs allege that super apps allow customers to switch away from the iPhone, and that the exclusive agreement between Apple and OpenAI protects Apple\u2019s monopoly and keeps iPhone prices high.<\/p>\n Also, in both letters, xAI\u2019s requests include:<\/p>\n Documents regarding the financial or strategic significance of selling or distributing Super Apps through [multiple app stores];<\/p>\n Documents sufficient to show how You earn revenue from [the app] in the U.S. and worldwide;<\/p>\n Documents regarding the ranking of [the app] on any Apple App Store List;<\/p>\n Documents regarding how Super Apps affect the ability of Smartphone customers to switch Smartphones;<\/p>\n Documents sufficient to show Your plans to incorporate and\/or existing incorporation of Generative AI technology into [the app] and Your rationale for doing so;<\/p>\n Documents regarding how Apple\u2019s policies, programs, product changes, or other restrictions have affected Your ability to distribute or improve [the app];<\/p>\n To be fair, super apps are mentioned nearly 80 times in xAI\u2019s original filing, so this doesn\u2019t mean that xAI is completely changing its strategy mid-course. And it is perfectly possible that xAI\u2019s endgame is to have Grok as the centerpiece of X\u2019s super app.<\/p>\n Still, with these two letters, and the high probability that xAI will also seek documents from other super apps mentioned in the lawsuit, including WeChat in China, Grab in Singapore, Gojek in Indonesia, Rakuten in Japan, TataNeu in India, and ZaloPay in Vietnam, it is increasingly apparent that in fact, this lawsuit has nearly nothing to do with App Store rankings per se.<\/p>\n Instead, it is about Musk using the legal system to blame Apple for X\u2019s failure to deliver on the long-standing promise to become the West\u2019s first super app, even though the Asian super apps he\u2019s citing as evidence all achieved success operating under broadly similar App Store rules that supposedly hold X back.<\/p>\n Granted, success in Asia isn\u2019t proof that Apple\u2019s rules aren\u2019t anticompetitive. But there are countless social, cultural, and economic factors that contributed to the rise of super apps in Asia, which simply don\u2019t exist in Western markets, and have little connection to how the App Store currently operates or the partnerships Apple strikes.<\/p>\n The kitchen sink strategy<\/p>\n Leveraging Grok\u2019s inability to reach the top of the App Store as a backdoor argument to compel Apple to reshape iOS around X\u2019s super app ambitions feels as hand-wavy as Epic Games intentionally getting kicked out of the App Store to file a lawsuit that, to be fair, keeps on giving<\/a>.<\/p>\n Whether xAI\u2019s fishing expedition will yield the same results remains to be seen.<\/p>\n And to be clear: Are xAI\u2019s anticompetitive claims worth examining? Sure. You may notice that during this entire article, I didn\u2019t say they didn\u2019t have merit. That\u2019s up to the courts to decide. But if you\u2019re going to sue someone, at least be honest about why.<\/p>\n What\u2019s your take on xAI\u2019s claims? Let us know in the comments.<\/p>\n Accessory deals on Amazon<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links. More.<\/a><\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/app-store-ai-apps.jpg\")
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