Apple issued a firm rebuttal to Elon Musk’s accusations that the App Store unfairly prioritizes OpenAI over other AI companies, including his own xAI.

In a statement to Mark Gurman of Bloomberg, Apple defended its platform’s fairness, stating that it is designed to “ensure impartiality and transparency.” According to the company, recommendation algorithms, expert-curated lists, and featured rankings are all based on objective criteria, aiming to provide users with safe choices and developers with equal opportunities.

Musk had claimed in an X post that Apple’s practices made it “impossible for any AI company besides OpenAI to reach #1 on the App Store.” However, X’s Community Notes quickly refuted this, pointing out that other AI apps—such as DeepSeek and Perplexity—have previously topped the charts.

The dispute escalated when OpenAI CEO Sam Altman accused Musk of manipulating X’s algorithm to serve his own interests. Even Grok, xAI’s chatbot, joined the debate.

So far, Musk has not filed a formal antitrust complaint or provided concrete evidence to support his claims. But if the controversy continues, it could eventually lead to legal action.

By: Nestor Castillo, ForAllTechNews Director