Elon Musk’s X and xAI filed a lawsuit against Apple and OpenAI on Monday. The suit alleges the two companies are colluding to stifle competition. It claims Apple is acting in a desperate bid to protect its smartphone monopoly by joining forces with OpenAI, which Musk’s suit calls a monopolist in the market for generative AI chatbots. This refers to Apple’s partnership with OpenAI to integrate ChatGPT into its systems.
This legal action is the latest in a long series of disputes between Musk and OpenAI’s Sam Altman. Musk was once a co-founder and co-chair of OpenAI. He has previously sued to block OpenAI’s transition into a for-profit company. He also submitted an unsolicited bid to take over OpenAI for $97.4 billion, which the company rejected.
The public feud continues with personal jabs. Earlier this month, Sam Altman responded to Musk’s allegations by calling them remarkable. Altman suggested it was ironic given what he had heard alleged about Musk manipulating X to benefit his own companies and harm his competitors.
Prior to the lawsuit, Musk posted anticompetitive allegations against OpenAI and Apple on X. He claimed it was impossible for any AI company besides OpenAI to reach the number one spot in the App Store.
The partnership between Apple and OpenAI was first announced last June. Collaborative features from the deal were expected to begin shipping in December. OpenAI and Apple did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the lawsuit.