- A federal judge denied motions by Apple and OpenAI to dismiss an antitrust lawsuit filed by Elon Musk‘s companies.
- X Corp. and xAI are allowed to pursue claims regarding Apple’s exclusive integration of ChatGPT on iOS devices.
- The lawsuit argues this exclusivity blocks competitors like xAI‘s Grok chatbot from comparable integration on iPhones.
- The judge directed the case toward summary judgment rather than early dismissal, allowing further legal examination.
On Thursday, a U.S. federal judge rejected motions to dismiss an antitrust lawsuit brought by Elon Musk’s companies, X Corp. and xAI, against Apple and OpenAI. The case, filed in August 2024, challenges Apple‘s exclusive decision from June 2024 to integrate OpenAI‘s ChatGPT as the sole AI assistant on iOS devices.
U.S. District Court Judge Mark Pittman ruled that the allegations warrant further legal review through summary judgment, rather than an early dismissal. The judge emphasized that this ruling is not a judgment on the merits of the case but permits claims to move forward for detailed examination.
According to the ruling, X Corp. and xAI argue this exclusive deal grants ChatGPT access to hundreds of millions of iPhones, creating a market monopoly. The complaint alleges that this access blocks competing AI chatbots, such as xAI‘s Grok, from the same level of integration. The suit claims ChatGPT controls at least 80% of the generative AI chatbot market, while Grok holds only a few percent despite its advanced features.
The lawsuit further accuses Apple of manipulating App Store rankings to favor ChatGPT. It notes that although Grok ranks second in the “Productivity” category and X Corp. ranks first in “News,” neither app appears in the “Must-Have Apps” section, which prominently features ChatGPT.
Legal experts cite the case as reflecting a key question about whether exclusive AI integrations on dominant platforms violate antitrust laws, especially since the definition of the “AI market” remains under regulatory development. According to INSIGHT, the lawsuit seeks billions in damages but still faces arguments from the defense that competition exists across platforms and that the integration may not be contractually exclusive and could bring efficiencies.
Elon Musk, co-founder of OpenAI in 2015, stepped down from its board in 2018 to avoid conflicts with Tesla‘s AI efforts. Since then, he has criticized OpenAI and filed multiple lawsuits, including one alleging trade secret theft and another over perceived abandonment of its founding mission.
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