Yasin Gungor
13 August 2025•Update: 13 August 2025
ISTANBUL
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman accused Elon Musk on Tuesday of manipulating X to benefit his companies.
Altman was responding to Musk's claims that Apple engages in antitrust violations that favor OpenAI.
"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 wrote on X.
The OpenAI chief said he hoped someone would pursue counter-discovery, noting that he and many others "would love to know what's been happening."
"OpenAI will just stay focused on making great products," he said.
Musk threatens legal action
Earlier, Musk, who leads the AI company, xAI, posted on X about Apple's behavior.
The Tesla CEO complained that Grok, his AI assistant, is not featured on Apple's AI section despite being "the smartest AI in the world on the toughest tests."
He said Apple "makes it impossible for any AI company besides OpenAI to reach #1 in the App Store, which is an unequivocal antitrust violation."
He announced xAI would take immediate legal action against Apple.
Contradicting evidence
Community notes on X challenged Musk's assertions, pointing out that Chinese AI model DeepSeek reached number one on Apple's App Store in January 2025, while Perplexity topped India's App Store on July 18, 2025.
Both achievements occurred after Apple announced its OpenAI partnership in June 2024.
History of conflict
The exchange represents the latest chapter in an escalating feud between the OpenAI co-founders. Musk and Altman established OpenAI in 2015 but split in 2018 when Musk left the board after demanding majority control and the CEO position.
Musk has since filed multiple lawsuits against OpenAI, alleging fraud and breach of contract for its transformation from a nonprofit to a for-profit entity partnered with Microsoft.
