Elon Musk Threatens Legal Action Against Apple Over App Store Exclusion

Elon Musk, the billionaire entrepreneur and owner of companies including SpaceX and Tesla, has announced plans to sue Apple over its decision not to feature his social media platform, X, and the Grok artificial intelligence chatbot app in its top recommended apps on the App Store. Musk made his intentions known via a post on his X account on August 11, 2025, questioning Apple’s motives and suggesting possible political bias in their app selection process.

In his post, Musk stated, “Hey Apple App Store, why do you refuse to put either X or Grok in your ‘Must Have’ section when X is the number 1 news app in the world and Grok is number 5 among all apps? Are you playing politics? What gives? Inquiring minds want to know.” This message highlights Musk’s frustration with Apple’s apparent exclusion of his apps, which he claims offer significant value to users.

The Grok application is part of Musk’s artificial intelligence startup, xAI, which aims to compete in the rapidly evolving AI landscape. Musk went further to assert that Apple’s actions create an unfair playing field, stating, “Apple is behaving in a manner that makes it impossible for any AI company besides OpenAI to reach number 1 in the App Store, which is an unequivocal antitrust violation. xAI will take immediate legal action.”

As of now, Apple has not responded to Musk’s comments. The tech giant has faced scrutiny in recent years over allegations of antitrust violations. A federal judge recently ruled that Apple violated a court injunction in a case brought by Epic Games, the creator of Fortnite. Additionally, the European Union fined Apple €500 million in April for breaching competition rules by preventing app developers from directing users to cheaper alternatives outside of the App Store.

Last year, Apple was penalized nearly USD 2 billion for favoring its own music streaming service, which prohibited competitors like Spotify from informing users about lower subscription options available outside of iPhone apps.

On the morning of Musk’s announcement, the top app in the Apple App Store was TikTok, followed by Tinder, Duolingo, YouTube, and Bumble, with OpenAI’s ChatGPT ranking seventh. This competitive landscape underscores the challenges faced by new entrants like Grok in achieving visibility and market share in an environment dominated by established players.

As this situation develops, the implications of Musk’s legal threats against Apple could have significant ramifications for both companies and the broader tech industry.