Updated

Updated · Ars Technica · Sep 14

Musk Drops Apple From OpenAI Monopoly Suit, Preserving Claims Over 0% to 55% Chatbot Foreclosure

Updated

Updated · Ars Technica · Sep 14

Musk Drops Apple From OpenAI Monopoly Suit, Preserving Claims Over 0% to 55% Chatbot Foreclosure

Q: Did a secret settlement secure Grok's future on the App Store, or is Musk just pivoting to isolate OpenAI?

There is no public evidence of a secret settlement securing Grok’s App Store future. The court filing says Musk’s companies resolved all claims against Apple and agreed not to bring them again, but it does not disclose any payment, policy change, or App Store commitment. Multiple reports note the filing gives no reason for the withdrawal and does not confirm a settlement at all. What is clear is that Musk is narrowing the fight to OpenAI. Apple is being removed from the case, while the same core allegations remain active against OpenAI: that the ChatGPT integration with Apple helped OpenAI strengthen or preserve a chatbot monopoly. That makes the move look less like a vindication over Grok’s App Store treatment and more like a litigation pivot toward Musk’s main rival in AI. That reading is strengthened by the broader context. Apple and OpenAI have both argued their arrangement was not exclusive, and there is no public sign that Apple changed App Store rankings or granted Grok special treatment. Grok remains strategically important to Musk because Apple’s ecosystem is a major distribution channel, but the record so far shows no disclosed guarantee for Grok’s placement or access. The strongest factual takeaway is this: Apple is out, OpenAI is still in, and the public record does not show why. Unless sealed terms surface later, the safer interpretation is that Musk chose to isolate OpenAI rather than that he won a hidden deal protecting Grok on the App Store.

3 articles · Updated · Ars Technica · Sep 14

A Monday court filing shows Elon Musk voluntarily dismissed all claims against Apple and agreed not to bring them again, narrowing his antitrust case to OpenAI.
The remaining suit argues OpenAI used its ChatGPT integration with Apple to monopolize the chatbot market, despite Apple’s position that the arrangement was never exclusive.
Musk had accused Apple in 2024 and 2025 of giving OpenAI privileged access to iPhone users’ AI prompts and of blocking rivals such as Grok from reaching No. 1 in the App Store.
OpenAI has called the case harassment by a rival whose AI business—now called SpaceXAI—is trying to catch up, and has attacked Musk’s market-foreclosure estimate of 0% to 55% as baseless.