Elon Musk Accuses Apple of Antitrust Violations in App Store AI Rankings

Elon Musk has launched a scathing critique against Apple, alleging the tech giant's App Store practices unfairly favor OpenAI's ChatGPT over competing AI platforms like his xAI venture. The dispute centers on the "Top Free Apps" rankings, where ChatGPT holds the No. 1 position while Musk's Grok trails at No. 5 and Google's Gemini languishes at No. 57.

Musk claims Apple's curation—including exclusion from the "Must Have" section despite X's status as the top news app—constitutes a "clear antitrust violation." The timing is conspicuous as Apple deepens its OpenAI integration, embedding ChatGPT across its device ecosystem. This partnership fuels speculation about preferential treatment, though Apple remains silent on the allegations.

The controversy erupts amid existing regulatory scrutiny. The EU previously targeted Apple's App Store policies in April, suggesting this latest clash may intensify legal pressures. For crypto markets, the feud underscores growing tensions between tech oligopolies and disruptive innovators—a dynamic familiar to decentralized finance advocates.