Elon Musk’s AI startup xAI and X have filed a lawsuit against Apple and ChatGPT maker OpenAI , accusing them of monopolistic practices.

"Working in tandem, defendants Apple and OpenAI have locked up markets to maintain their monopolies and prevent innovators like X and xAI from competing," according to the lawsuit filed at the US federal court in Texas on Monday.

It further underlined that Apple and OpenAI’s exclusive arrangement has made ChatGPT the only generative AI chatbot integrated into the iPhone.

"This means that if iPhone users want to use a generative AI chatbot for key tasks on their devices, they have no choice but to use ChatGPT, even if they would prefer to use more innovative and imaginative products like xAI’s Grok," it said.

 

If not for its exclusive deal with OpenAI, Apple would have no reason to refrain from more prominently featuring the X app and the Grok app in its App Store, the lawsuit added.

The lawsuit further said that xAI and X have both been injured by this collusion between Apple and OpenAI that has already caused the Elon Musk's entities significant damages that will amount to billions of dollars in combined lost sales and enterprise values.

Musk later on Monday, in a post on his social media platform X, echoed the allegations in the lawsuit, writing, "A million reviews with 4.9 average for @Grok and still Apple refuses to mention Grok on any lists."

 

Musk had threatened to sue Apple earlier this month, writing on X that Apple's behavior "makes it impossible for any AI company besides OpenAI to reach #1 in the App Store."

 

The lawsuit is a build up to the long  drawn dispute between Musk and OpenAI's Sam Altman.

Musk was once a co-founder and co-chair of OpenAI but fell out with the AI startup to roll out his own AI division. Last year, Musk sued OpenAI and its co-founders Altman and Greg Brockman, and its affiliated entities, for breaching the contract to stay non-profit.