Elon Musk Threatens Legal Action Against Apple Over App Store Rankings
In a bold move, billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk, known for his ventures such as SpaceX and Tesla, has declared his intention to sue tech giant Apple. The reason? Musk claims that Apple has unfairly neglected to feature his app X and its Grok artificial intelligence (AI) chatbot app in the top recommended apps on the App Store.
Musk took to X to express his frustration, questioning Apple’s motives. He pointed out that X is currently the #1 news app globally, with Grok ranking at #5 among all apps. Musk’s AI startup, xAI, is the owner of Grok.
Accusing Apple of playing politics, Musk stated, “Apple is behaving in a manner that makes it impossible for any AI company besides OpenAI to reach #1 in the App Store, which is an unequivocal antitrust violation. xAI will take immediate legal action.”
Despite Musk’s bold claims, he did not provide further details regarding the potential lawsuit. Apple has not yet responded to Musk’s accusations.
This is not the first time Apple has faced allegations of antitrust violations. Recently, a federal judge found the company in violation of a court injunction in a case filed by Epic Games, the developer of Fortnite. Additionally, European Union regulators have fined Apple for breaking competition rules, including restricting app makers from directing users to cheaper alternatives outside of the App Store.
With ongoing scrutiny from regulators and now a potential legal battle with Elon Musk, Apple’s practices in the App Store continue to come under fire. As of now, the top-ranking apps in the US App Store include TikTok, Tinder, Duolingo, YouTube, and Bumble, with Open AI’s ChatGPT holding the 7th spot. The tech industry awaits the outcome of Musk’s threat against Apple. – Euronews
