US judge allows Elon Musk’s antitrust case against Apple and OpenAI to proceed

A federal judge in the United States has allowed an antitrust lawsuit filed by Elon Musk’s companies against Apple and ChatGPT-maker OpenAI to move ahead, with the case alleging that the two firms conspired to monopolise markets for smartphones and generative AI chatbots. As reported by Reuters, US District Judge Mark Pittman stated in his ruling that Musk’s social media platform X, formerly Twitter, and his AI start-up xAI may proceed with their action for now, while emphasising that this should not be viewed as a judgement on the strength of the underlying allegations, as disputes over fact will be assessed at a later stage.

The lawsuit argues that Apple violated antitrust law through its exclusive integration of ChatGPT into Apple Intelligence features across iPhones and other devices, and Musk’s companies have claimed that Apple unlawfully shut out competing services through its partnership with OpenAI. They further alleged that Apple bolstered ChatGPT’s exclusivity by promoting it prominently on its “Must-Have Apps” list in the App Store while pushing competing products to the margins.

In response to the judge’s comments on 13 November, OpenAI stated that the lawsuit reflects what they described as Musk’s ongoing pattern of harassment and they informed that they intend to prove this in court. Apple, which has sought dismissal of the case, previously stated that its arrangement with OpenAI is not exclusive and argued that the complaint fails to demonstrate any agreement preventing Apple from working with other chatbot providers. Apple stated that choosing an initial partner is not unlawful and denied any form of anticompetitive behaviour, highlighting that alternative chatbots remain accessible via browsers and apps. OpenAI has separately stated that Musk is engaged in what it described as a campaign of lawfare against the organisation and its ChatGPT technology.