Musk’s xAI Drops Apple Antitrust Claims While Competition Fight With OpenAI Continues

Elon Musk’s xAI and X Corp. have resolved and moved to dismiss their antitrust claims against Apple, ending the portion of a lawsuit that accused the iPhone maker of favoring OpenAI’s ChatGPT over rival AI services. The filing did not disclose the reason for the resolution, any settlement terms, or whether Apple made concessions. Reuters reported that the companies asked the court to dismiss the claims, while Bloomberg described the action as a resolution of the competition suit against Apple.

The move narrows a case that began as a broad challenge to Apple and OpenAI’s relationship. The plaintiffs had accused the companies of conspiring to dominate smartphone and generative AI chatbot markets by giving ChatGPT privileged access to iPhone features and stronger visibility in Apple’s App Store rankings.

OpenAI remains the central target of Musk’s surviving antitrust claims. Ars Technica reported that Apple’s departure leaves OpenAI to continue defending the allegations tied to the ChatGPT integration, while earlier coverage described the partnership as the foundation of Musk’s legal challenge. The remaining dispute keeps alive questions about whether an operating-system owner and a leading chatbot provider improperly reinforced each other’s market positions.

A federal judge allowed the lawsuit to proceed in November 2025 after rejecting efforts by Apple and OpenAI to dismiss it, according to Bloomberg Law. That ruling did not establish that the companies violated antitrust law. It permitted Musk’s claims to continue, setting the stage for discovery and further arguments before the Apple claims were withdrawn.

The lawsuit accused Apple and OpenAI of creating an illegal arrangement that sidelined competing chatbots. Musk’s companies argued that Apple’s decision to integrate ChatGPT into iPhone features gave OpenAI distribution and visibility unavailable to rivals such as xAI’s Grok. The complaint also challenged Apple’s ranking of AI applications in its App Store, after Musk alleged that ChatGPT competitors were being unfairly excluded from prominent positions.

Coverage from CBS News, NBC Bay Area and ABC News described the case as a 61-page complaint filed in federal court in Texas. The allegations extended beyond a single app placement dispute, linking Apple’s control over iPhone distribution with competition in the fast-growing AI market. Apple and OpenAI have denied wrongdoing, and the legal claims remain allegations rather than findings by a court.

Musk’s opposition began when Apple and OpenAI announced their iPhone integration in 2024. Ars Technica reported that Musk criticized the arrangement at the time, objecting to ChatGPT’s role in Apple’s AI features and raising privacy concerns. The dispute escalated in 2025, when Musk threatened legal action and then filed suit after accusing Apple of favoring ChatGPT in its app ecosystem.

The case placed a personal and commercial rivalry inside a larger fight over access to consumer AI distribution. Apple controls the software layer through which iPhone users discover and use many AI services. OpenAI gained a prominent route to those users, while xAI was trying to expand Grok’s reach across Musk’s technology businesses.

Apple’s exit removes a major corporate defendant and limits the lawsuit’s immediate challenge to the iPhone maker’s platform practices. It also leaves unanswered whether the resolution included business commitments, changed app-ranking policies, or simply reflected a strategic decision to end the claims. The court filing, as described by Reuters, did not explain the terms.

For Apple, the resolution reduces litigation risk around its ChatGPT partnership while the company continues developing AI features for its devices. For xAI and X, abandoning the Apple claims concentrates the legal campaign on OpenAI. The companies still retain other avenues to challenge platform access, including public pressure, regulatory complaints and future litigation.

The remaining case against OpenAI will determine whether Musk’s claims produce meaningful evidence about AI distribution, app-store rankings and exclusive platform partnerships. The November 2025 ruling gave the allegations a path toward litigation, but the eventual outcome will depend on proof of market power, exclusionary conduct and consumer or competitive harm.

The dispute also arrives as AI companies compete for control of the places where users encounter chatbots: mobile operating systems, app stores, search tools and social platforms. Apple’s withdrawal changes the shape of Musk’s case, but the broader fight over who controls consumer access to AI remains active.