Apple rejects Musk claim of App Store bias in Favor of ChatGPT
Apple has firmly denied allegations made by Elon Musk that its App Store unfairly promotes OpenAI’s ChatGPT over his AI chatbot, Grok, and other competing apps. The Tesla and SpaceX CEO accused Apple earlier this week of favoring OpenAI, calling it “an unequivocal antitrust violation” and claiming that no AI company besides OpenAI could realistically reach the number one spot in the App Store. Without providing evidence, Musk said his AI company, xAI, would take immediate legal action against Apple.
Responding to an AFP inquiry, Apple rejected the accusation outright, stating that the App Store is “fair and free of bias.” The company explained that it features thousands of apps through algorithm-driven charts, recommendations, and curated lists selected by experts using objective criteria. Apple also stressed that its aim is to offer safe discovery for users and fair opportunities for developers to showcase their creations.
Many social media users were quick to point out that Musk’s claim didn’t match recent App Store trends. Earlier this year, China’s DeepSeek AI reached the number one position, while Perplexity AI recently topped the charts in India—both direct competitors to OpenAI and xAI.
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman called Musk’s accusation “remarkable” and accused him of manipulating X, formerly Twitter, to favor his own companies and hurt competitors. Musk responded by calling Altman a “liar,” further escalating tensions between the two.
This public clash comes amid intensifying competition in the AI industry, where app store rankings play a crucial role in user adoption. While Musk has framed his criticism as a potential antitrust case, analysts note that proving bias in court will be challenging without hard evidence. Apple, for its part, continues to maintain that its App Store rankings are impartial and guided by algorithms designed to be fair to all developers.
