Judge Denies Dismissal Of Musk Antitrust Lawsuit

A U.S. federal judge has denied motions to dismiss Elon Musk’s antitrust lawsuit against Apple and OpenAI, allowing the case to proceed toward summary judgment. Judge Mark Pittman’s ruling Thursday rejected the companies’ attempts to dismiss claims brought by X Corp. and xAI.

The lawsuit, filed in August, centers around Apple’s decision in June 2024 to make ChatGPT the exclusive AI assistant integrated into iOS. X Corp. and xAI allege this arrangement unfairly gives OpenAI access to hundreds of millions of iPhones while hindering competitors like xAI’s Grok chatbot. The complaint seeks billions in damages.

Even Alex Chandra, a partner at IGNOS Law Alliance, noted this is a procedural step and the focus now shifts to examining the facts. The case highlights an ongoing debate about default AI integrations on dominant platforms and how they should be treated under antitrust law.

The complaint claims ChatGPT controls “at least 80 percent” of the generative AI chatbot market, while Grok holds only “a few percent,” despite purportedly superior capabilities. The lawsuit also accuses Apple of manipulating App Store rankings to favor ChatGPT.

Ishita Sharma, managing partner at Fathom Legal, emphasized the case will hinge on evidence of exclusion versus efficiency, determining whether rivals are truly blocked or if it represents a competitive partnership.

Apple and OpenAI are expected to argue that competition remains alive across platforms and browsers, that the arrangement may not be strictly exclusive, and that it provides competitive efficiencies.

Decrypt has reached out to Apple, OpenAI, and X for comment. The case marks a continuation of a long-running dispute between Musk and OpenAI, stemming from Musk’s departure from the company in 2018 and subsequent accusations of abandoning its founding mission.

Musk, along with Sam Altman, Greg Brockman, and Ilya Sutskever, initially co-founded OpenAI in 2015.

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