Musk’s ongoing war with Apple and OpenAI is now a full-on legal battle: He sued the two companies on Monday, alleging that they have conspired to entrench their respective mobile and generative AI monopolies. The lawsuit comes just weeks after Musk lashed out at Apple for consistently boosting OpenAI’s ChatGPT in the App Store while his own chatbot Grok, has yet to land on the “Must Have” list.

Filed on behalf of Musk’s companies X and xAI, the suit goes well beyond gripes about the App Store. It alleges that Apple and OpenAI have forged an exclusive partnership that not only integrates ChatGPT across every major iPhone feature by default, but also gives them total control over which chatbots can access Apple’s billions of users. The deal, Musk’s filing argues, violates antitrust and unfair competition laws and could destroy his years-in-the-making plan to build an “everything app” atop Twitter, which he bought in 2022.

Apple and OpenAI first announced their deal in March at Apple’s annual World Developers Conference. The agreement integrated ChatGPT across Apple devices as the default chatbot for Siri, Apple’s Writing Tools, and more. By default, every iPhone now prompts users to use ChatGPT in select messaging fields and provides personalized responses, with data automatically routed to OpenAI. The lawsuit argues that XAI and Grok have been “shut out of this deal from day one.”

X’s complaint, which seeks billions in damages and a permanent injunction on Apple’s exclusive partnership, says the deal grants OpenAI the ability to “scale without limit and to edge out its competitors,” while also stifling innovation. According to Musk’s lawyers, data from billions of users is the lifeblood of any chatbot service, and by giving OpenAI the inside track on user prompts, Apple is propping up a dominant market leader. OpenAI already controls at least 80 percent of the chatbot market, the suit claims, and Apple’s moves will make it nearly impossible for rivals to catch up.

“Generative AI chatbots would vigorously compete with one another in a fair market,” the lawsuit states. “Instead, defendants’ anticompetitive conduct has handed a substantial portion of the market to ChatGPT.”

The filing also accuses Apple of being driven by a fear that a successful rival super app could one day make iPhones feel less essential to consumers. It even quotes Apple executive Eddy Cue as saying advances in artificial intelligence could “destroy Apple’s smartphone business.” Apple’s “errand boy” and “liaison to OpenAI,” the complaint continues, is named Matthew Wong, a former OpenAI exec.

Apple’s commitment to ChatGPT appears total. Apple Maps, which received an “Imagine” update in April, was integrated with Grok in beta but not the final version, Musk’s filing says. Developers can now build custom ChatGPT buttons into their apps, but no equivalent option for Grok. Apple also has X flag iPhones purchased by developers and users to help boost Grok’s performance, but declined to offer the same to OpenAI, the suit adds.

Exclusive Access Helps OpenAI Dominate

The lawsuit compares Apple’s deal with OpenAI to its long-standing arrangement with Google, which U.S. regulators have argued entrenched Google’s search engine monopoly. Musk alleges Apple has rebuffed xAI’s attempts to integrate Grok into iOS, and when Grok did try to pitch features like “Ask Grok” and “Imagine,” Apple either rejected them or delayed publishing in the App Store.

Apple has also boosted ChatGPT in the App Store, Musk’s lawsuit says, manipulating rankings to favor OpenAI in a system that “has stopped factoring in user reviews and instead is simply tracking how many times the app is run.” Apple further tweaked rankings on iOS 18 to keep Grok from rising in the charts, the suit claims. Apple has also allegedly made it difficult for developers to release Grok updates without the company first vetting each.

The document describes Apple’s deal with OpenAI as an existential threat. Beyond choking off competition in the AI chatbot market, Apple’s tie-up with OpenAI has far greater potential to make iPhones—and even the iPhone business itself—far less essential to users. Apple customers may end up with fewer chatbot options and less capable services, but will continue paying monopoly prices for Apple devices.

And what’s good for Apple is good for OpenAI, the suit suggests. Grok’s inability to scale without user data also potentially gives OpenAI the leverage to boost subscription prices without fear of user defections. OpenAI, the lawsuit notes, has plans to double its “plus” subscription price over the next four years. “That plan would be unfeasible unless OpenAI has power over marketwide prices,” it alleges.

Apple and OpenAI’s tie-up also threatens to chill investment in generative AI. Musk’s filing suggests that if Apple continues to favor ChatGPT, it could dissuade investors from putting money into competitive chatbot services like Grok. Even if they do take the risk, it’s harder for startups to compete with Big Tech firms that have more cash to recruit star developers.