The long-simmering feud between tech titans Elon Musk and Sam Altman has boiled over into a full-blown public brawl, with Musk threatening immediate legal action against Apple and accusing the OpenAI CEO of being a “liar.” The escalating conflict, which has played out on Musk’s social media platform, X, centers on allegations of antitrust violations and a bitter rivalry for dominance in the burgeoning artificial intelligence market.
The latest salvo was fired when Musk, owner of X and AI company xAI, accused Apple of unfairly favoring OpenAI’s ChatGPT app in its App Store rankings. In a series of fiery posts, Musk claimed that Apple’s partnership with OpenAI and its editorial choices make it “impossible for any AI company besides OpenAI to reach #1 in the App Store,” calling it an “unequivocal antitrust violation.” He vowed that xAI would take immediate legal action.
This is not the first time Musk has targeted Apple. He previously threatened to ban Apple devices from his companies after the tech giant announced it would integrate ChatGPT into its “Apple Intelligence” suite, citing security concerns.
The War of Words on X
Musk’s accusations prompted a swift and sharp retort from Sam Altman. In a post on X, Altman fired back, alleging that Musk manipulates the platform to benefit his own companies and harm his competitors. “This is a remarkable claim given what I have heard alleged that Elon does to manipulate X to benefit himself and his own companies and harm his competitors and people he doesn’t like,” Altman wrote. He also linked to a report that claimed Musk had created a special system to prioritize his own posts in users’ feeds.
Musk’s response was equally personal, calling Altman a “liar” and claiming Altman’s post had garnered more views than many of his own, despite Musk’s vastly larger follower count. The exchange is the latest chapter in a long-standing rivalry that dates back to the very origins of OpenAI, which Musk co-founded before leaving in 2018.
A Battle for App Store Supremacy
At the heart of the dispute is the intense competition to be the dominant AI chatbot. While ChatGPT has consistently held the top spot in the App Store’s “Top Free Apps” section, Musk’s Grok chatbot has climbed to the fifth position.
Musk’s legal threats come at a time when Apple is already facing intense scrutiny from regulators. The company is currently battling a federal antitrust lawsuit from the Department of Justice and has been fined by the European Union for anti-competitive practices. Whether Musk’s lawsuit will gain traction remains to be seen, but the public clash between these tech titans serves as a powerful reminder of the high-stakes battle for control of the AI-powered future.