- Musk accuses Apple of sidelining X and Grok from “Must Have” app listings.
- Alleges favoritism toward OpenAI, calling it an antitrust violation.
- Grok AI briefly suspended on X after controversial Gaza-related remarks.
Elon Musk has announced plans to sue Apple, claiming the company’s App Store deliberately excluded his social platform X and AI assistant Grok from its top recommended apps section.
The dispute emerges as Apple faces ongoing global scrutiny over its App Store policies, with billion-euro fines in the EU and recent U.S. legal defeats over alleged anti-competitive practices.
Musk vs. Apple: App Store Dispute Escalates Into Potential Lawsuit
Musk’s public challenge began when he questioned Apple on X about omitting both X and Grok from the App Store’s “Must Have” section, despite their strong rankings in news and overall app categories. His posts implied the decision was politically motivated, adding fuel to a growing rivalry between the billionaire and the tech giant.
The allegations come at a critical moment for Apple, which is preparing to roll out OpenAI’s advanced GPT-5 model in the upcoming iPhone 17 series. Musk, who co-founded OpenAI before leaving the company, has become one of its most vocal critics, accusing it of drifting from its original mission.
In the midst of the App Store controversy, Grok faced its own setback. On Monday, the chatbot’s account was suspended for about 15 minutes, with its gold verification badge temporarily downgraded. Users quickly flagged the change to Musk, prompting a restoration of the account’s status.
Grok later suggested in a now-deleted post that the suspension was punishment for its statements on the Gaza conflict. The message cited international human rights reports and rulings as justification for its claims. xAI said it has refined Grok’s political content filters since the incident but maintained its commitment to free expression.
With legal threats, political controversy, and competitive AI battles all intertwined, Musk’s clash with Apple could become a defining dispute in the broader conversation over Big Tech power and platform fairness.
“When one player controls the field, the game is already rigged.” — Anonymous
