Apple slams Elon Musk over claims of being biased in…, says app store is fair and…

The top app in Apple's App Store was TikTok, followed by Tinder, Duolingo, YouTube and Bumble. OpenAI's ChatGPT was ranked 7th.

Written by: Anirudha Yerunkar Edited by: Anirudha Yerunkar

Published: August 13, 2025, 4:24 PM IST

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https://www.india.com/business/apple-slams-elon-musk-over-claims-of-being-biased-in-ranking-says-app-store-is-fair-and-free-of-bias-8008989/ Copy

Apple has responded to Elon Musk’s accusations of bias in its App Store rankings and stated its commitment to “safe discovery” for users. The clash started when Musk, CEO of X (formerly Twitter), accused Apple of deliberately keeping his apps out of the platform’s “Must Have” section, alleging the company favoured OpenAI in its rankings. Musk also called the move anticompetitive and even threatened legal action through his AI venture, xAI.

What Apple Said On Elon Musk’s Claim?

In a statement to Bloomberg, Apple dismissed the claims, insisting the App Store’s ranking system is “fair and free of bias,” driven by “objective criteria” like data and algorithmic factors. The company said, “The goal is to offer safe discovery for users and valuable opportunities for developers, collaborating with many to increase app visibility in rapidly evolving categories.”

Elon Musk Plan To Sue Apple

Billionaire SpaceX, Tesla and X owner Elon Musk says he plans to sue Apple for not featuring X and its Grok artificial intelligence chatbot app in its top recommended apps in its App Store. 

Musk posted the comments on X late Monday, saying, “Hey @Apple App Store, why do you refuse to put either X or Grok in your Must Have’ section when X is the #1 news app in the world and Grok is #5 among all apps? Are you playing politics? What gives? Inquiring minds want to know.”

Grok is owned by Musk’s artificial intelligence startup xAI. 

Musk went on to say that “Apple is behaving in a manner that makes it impossible for any AI company besides OpenAI to reach #1 in the App Store, which is an unequivocal antitrust violation. xAI will take immediate legal action.” He gave no further details. 

What Are Earlier Charges Against Apple?

A federal judge recently found that Apple violated a court injunction in an antitrust case filed by Fortnite maker Epic Games. 

Regulators of the 27-nation European Union fined Apple 500 million euros in April for breaking competition rules by preventing app makers from pointing users to cheaper options outside its App Store. 

Last year, the EU fined the US tech giant nearly USD 2 billion for unfairly favouring its own music streaming service by forbidding rivals like Spotify from telling users how they could pay for cheaper subscriptions outside of iPhone apps.

(With Inputs From PTI)