Apple Denies Musk’s Accusations of Preferential Treatment for OpenAI

Apple has rejected claims made by X and xAI founder Elon Musk alleging that the company is prioritising OpenAI in its App Store rankings. In a public statement to Bloomberg, Apple asserted that the App Store is “designed to be fair and free of bias,” and highlighted that it showcases “thousands of apps through charts, algorithmic recommendations, and curated lists selected by experts using objective criteria.” The company emphasised its commitment to providing “safe discovery for users and valuable opportunities for developers,” while collaborating with various creators to enhance app visibility in rapidly changing categories.

Musk’s Allegations Against Apple

In a sequence of posts on X, Musk accused Apple of engaging in an “unequivocal antitrust violation” by allegedly favouring OpenAI, thereby making it difficult for other AI companies to achieve prominent visibility in the App Store. He claimed that Apple had declined to feature X and xAI’s chatbot Grok in its “Must Have” section, despite X being described as “the #1 news app in the world” and Grok holding the fifth overall rank. Musk questioned Apple’s motives, saying, “Are you playing politics? What gives?” and even threatened immediate legal action.

Lack of Evidence for Musk’s Claims

Musk did not provide any evidence to substantiate his allegations. Furthermore, other AI applications, such as China’s DeepSeek and the US-based Perplexity, have recently achieved higher rankings on Apple’s platform, even after the announcement of Apple’s partnership with OpenAI.

Response from OpenAI’s CEO

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman addressed Musk’s comments on X, labelling them a “remarkable claim” and suggesting that Musk has faced accusations of leveraging his own platform to benefit his enterprises while disadvantaging competitors. In response, Musk retorted, “Scam Altman lies as easily as he breathes.”

Implications of Apple’s Focus on Safe Discovery

Apple’s commitment to “safe discovery” has been interpreted by some observers as a subtle allusion to issues related to Grok’s responses, which have allegedly included uncensored and offensive material.