Musk’s X, SpaceXAI drop antitrust claims against Apple

Elon Musk’s X Corp and SpaceXAI have withdrawn their antitrust claims against Apple, bringing one part of a broader legal dispute over competition in smartphones and artificial intelligence to an end.

In a filing with a federal court in Texas, Musk’s companies asked for the claims against Apple to be dismissed. The filing did not provide a reason for the decision or disclose whether Apple and Musk’s companies had reached a settlement.

The move removes Apple from the lawsuit, but the companies said they intend to continue pursuing their claims against OpenAI, which remains a defendant in the case.

The dispute centered on Apple’s partnership with OpenAI and the integration of ChatGPT into Apple Intelligence features across the company’s devices.

Musk’s companies had accused Apple of violating antitrust laws by working with OpenAI in a way that allegedly disadvantaged competing AI providers.

The lawsuit focused on the growing battle among AI companies to establish their products as default services on smartphones and other widely used consumer platforms.

Musk’s companies argued that Apple’s integration of ChatGPT could make it more difficult for rival AI providers, including Musk’s xAI, to gain comparable access to Apple’s enormous user base.

Apple and OpenAI have denied the allegations and rejected claims that their relationship improperly restricted competition.

Apple has previously maintained that its integration of OpenAI’s technology is not exclusive, allowing the company to work with other AI providers.

The legal dispute had become part of the broader competition surrounding generative AI, bringing Musk’s expanding AI ambitions into direct conflict with two of the technology industry’s largest companies.

Although the claims against Apple are being dismissed, the legal battle involving OpenAI remains active.

Musk has repeatedly criticized OpenAI and its leadership, while his AI company, xAI, has developed Grok as a direct competitor to ChatGPT.

The conflict has increasingly expanded beyond the performance of AI models to issues involving distribution, platform access and the relationships between major technology companies.

Control over consumer distribution has become increasingly important as AI companies compete to move their products from standalone applications into everyday devices and software ecosystems.

Musk’s xAI also strengthened its position in the social media market after acquiring X in a transaction that valued the platform at approximately $33 billion.

The combination of X and xAI has given Musk a broader ecosystem through which to develop and distribute Grok while competing with established AI providers.

At the same time, Apple has been expanding Apple Intelligence as part of its strategy to integrate AI more deeply into iPhones and other devices.

Its partnership with OpenAI allows Apple users to access ChatGPT through Apple’s ecosystem, providing OpenAI with a major distribution channel while helping Apple expand its generative AI capabilities.

For rival AI companies such as xAI, gaining access to major consumer platforms is strategically important as competition shifts from simply building powerful models to securing widespread adoption.

The dismissal of the Apple claims therefore removes one legal front in Musk’s broader dispute but does not resolve the underlying competition with OpenAI.

For now, the court filing does not explain why Musk’s companies chose to withdraw the claims against Apple or whether the two sides reached a private agreement.