TWO COMPANIES BELONGING to billionaire Elon Musk have filed a sweeping lawsuit against Apple and the owners of AI bot ChatGPT over accusations of unfair business practices.

Musk’s xAI and X, formerly Twitter, has alleged that Apple and OpenAI have formed an illegal partnership to stop competition, which is against so-called antitrust laws in the US.

In a 61-page complaint, filed to a court in Texas today, the companies accuse the tech giants of entering an exclusive deal that makes ChatGPT the only generative AI robot integrated on Apple’s iPhone’s operating system.

Such a deal would prevent xAI’s Grok from competing for that place or could block its use, the document claims. The lawsuit claims that the complaint is the “tale of two monopolists joining forces to ensure their continued dominance”.

According to Musk’s firms, Apple holds 65% of the American smartphone market, while OpenAI controls at least 80% of the AI chatbot market. Both companies announced a partnership deal in June 2024, making ChatGPT the exclusive iPhone AI assistant.

The lawsuit against this measure alleges that the arrangement gives ChatGPT exclusive access to billions more user prompts from iPhone users, which would benefit the robot’s abilities and testing.

It also accuses Apple of manipulating App Store rankings to favour OpenAI’s chatbot, while delaying approval of updates to the Grok app. Musk’s companies are seeking billions in damages and a permanent injunction to stop the partnership.

They have also sought a jury trial to take place. 

Musk, who is the world’s richest person, is a founder of OpenAI. The company said the billionaire’s latest filing is “consistent” with his “ongoing pattern of harassment”.

Apple did not immediately respond to a request for comment. 

With reporting by Muiris Ó Cearbhaill