Apple Refuted Musk's Bias Claims

Apple stated that there is no basis for recent accusations by Elon Musk. The billionaire claims the company is suppressing xAI’s Grok AI chatbot in the App Store. Apple emphasized that its store rankings are objective.

Musk appears disgruntled by a partnership between Apple and OpenAI to enhance its Siri personal assistant with the ChatGPT chatbot. In a series of posts on X in recent days, the billionaire threatened legal action over what he argues is a breach of competition laws.

Apple stated that the rankings of its App Store are based on various means, including algorithms and expertly curated lists, denying Musk’s accusation of favouritism towards its AI partner. The vendor emphasized the large number of apps on offer through its marketplace and asserted objectivity in how those are rated and presented to users.

ChatGPT is the top free app listed for iPhones on the US version of Apple’s App Store, with Grok sixth. OpenAI’s product also heads free iPad apps, with Grok in 34th place. There are strong suggestions across news articles on the matter that Musk’s grievance lies more with OpenAI than Apple, given a well-publicised spat with the AI company’s CEO, Sam Altman.