The rivalry between two of the AI industry’s most influential figures—OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and xAI founder Elon Musk—escalated further this week after Musk accused Apple of giving preferential treatment to ChatGPT on its App Store. The claim quickly drew a sharp and pointed response from Altman.

Musk, in a post on X, alleged that Apple’s ranking system unfairly promotes OpenAI’s ChatGPT while making it “impossible” for any competing AI app to secure the top spot. He went as far as calling the practice “an unequivocal antitrust violation” and announced that xAI would take “immediate legal action” against the tech giant.

“Apple is behaving in a manner that makes it impossible for any AI company besides OpenAI to reach #1 in the App Store,” Musk wrote. “xAI will take immediate legal action.”

The accusation comes amid heightened competition in the AI landscape. OpenAI recently launched its much-anticipated GPT-5 model, while Musk’s xAI introduced the Grok 4 model last month. Musk has continued to champion his platform, claiming Grok 4 remains the “best available” AI model despite OpenAI’s advancements. In a move to attract more users, Musk also made xAI’s Imagine feature for video and image generation free for all, and removed the paywall for Grok 4.

Altman, however, was quick to challenge Musk’s claims, taking a direct swipe at the way Musk allegedly operates X.

“This is a remarkable claim given what I have heard alleged that Elon does to manipulate X to benefit himself and his own companies and harm his competitors and people he doesn't like,” Altman posted on X.

He didn’t stop there, adding: “I hope someone will get counter-discovery on this, I and many others would love to know what's been happening. But OpenAI will just stay focused on making great products.”

Altman also shared a link to an article claiming Musk had altered X’s algorithm to prioritize his own posts over others.

While both leaders continue to push their AI products, the reception hasn’t been entirely smooth. GPT-5’s launch, despite its technological leap, has been met with mixed user reactions. Many subscribers voiced frustration over OpenAI’s removal of older ChatGPT models, with some threatening to cancel their subscriptions unless these models are restored.

The public spat between Altman and Musk underscores a deeper tension within the rapidly evolving AI industry, where product dominance, platform control, and corporate strategy often collide. With legal threats now in the mix, the Apple App Store’s ranking practices may soon face heightened scrutiny—potentially impacting not only OpenAI and xAI, but the broader app development ecosystem.