It makes sense that companies and restaurants all want the highest and best reviews possible. People are inherently lazy. They like lists. So, being on the “top” or “best” list is a good way to gain attention and drive customers to your product. It’s also why we get why Elon Musk is upset that Grok isn’t topping the Apple App Store charts, so much so that he is filing a lawsuit against the company and OpenAI.
Musk files lawsuit against Apple and OpenAI
Earlier this month, Musk publicly called out Apple got apparently preventing his Grok AI app from ranking in first place on the App Store charts, and said that the company was favoring OpenAI. He also threatened to sue, but at that time, it was unclear if the lawsuit would proceed.
However, based on the latest reports, it looks like Musk did indeed follow through with his threat . The lawsuit alleges that Apple was “blindsided by major innovations in AI.” This apparently led to the Cupertino company teaming up with OpenAI “in a desperate bid to protect its smartphone monopoly.”
The lawsuit also claims that if iOS users wanted to install a gen AI chatbot, they would have “no choice” but to use ChatGPT. Even if they preferred “more innovative and imaginative products like xAI’s Grok”. xAI is now asking that the courts stop Apple and OpenAI’s “anticompetitve scheme,” while also demanding damages.
Additionally, the lawsuit says, “Despite their high rankings in the subject-matter-based ‘Top Apps’ lists, neither the X app nor the Grok app appeared in the ‘Must-Have Apps’ section of the App Store on August 24, 2025. Instead, as reflected in Figure 5 below, the first 11 listed apps in the ‘Must-Have Apps’ section on August 24, 2025 do not include the X app or the Grok app. Neither the X app nor the Grok app appears further down on the list, either. This is also true of other generative AI chatbot and super app competitors.”
Apple’s response
It will be interesting to see how this lawsuit plays out. But either way, it looks like Apple has found itself in antitrust trouble once again.
