<div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/elon-musk" rel="" target="" title="Elon Musk"><span>Elon Musk</span></a><span> targeted </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/apple" rel="" target="_blank" title="Apple"><span>Apple</span></a><span> and OpenAI in an antitrust lawsuit alleging that the iPhone maker and the ChatGPT maker are teaming up to thwart competition in </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/artificial-intelligence" rel="" target="_blank" title="artificial intelligence"><span>artificial intelligence</span></a><span>.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The 61-page complaint filed in Texas federal court follows through on a threat that Musk made two weeks ago when he accused Apple of unfairly favouring OpenAI and ChatGPT in the iPhone's app store rankings for top AI apps.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Musk's post insinuated that Apple had rigged the system against ChatGPT competitors such as the Grok chatbot made by his own xAI. </span></div></div><div><div id="adspot-mobile-medium"></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE: '</span></strong><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/world/donald-trump-suggests-us-may-like-a-dictator-in-threat-to-send-troops-to-chicago/6183008e-4f74-4774-b44b-f9bf0b7406c2" rel="" target="_blank" title="A lot' of Americans would 'like a dictator', Trump says"><strong><span>A lot' of Americans would 'like a dictator', Trump says</span></strong></a></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Now, he is detailing a litany of grievances in the lawsuit — filed by xAI and another of his corporate entities, X Corp. — in an attempt to win monetary damages and a court order prohibiting the alleged illegal tactics.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The double-barreled legal attack weaves together several recently unfolding narratives to recast a year-old partnership between Apple and OpenAI as a veiled conspiracy to stifle competition during a technological shift that could prove as revolutionary as the 2007 release of the iPhone.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>“This is a tale of two monopolists joining forces to ensure their continued dominance in a world rapidly driven by the most powerful technology humanity has ever created: artificial intelligence,” the lawsuit asserts.</span></div></div><div><div class="OUTBRAIN" data-reactroot="" data-src="//www.9news.com.au/world/elon-musk-apple-openai-ai-artificial-intelligence-lawsuit-usa-texas/79271791-99ed-497c-93ad-4ed7183cac76" data-widget-id="AR_5"></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The complaint portrays Apple as a company that views AI as an “existential threat” to its future success, prompting it to collude with OpenAI in an attempt to protect the iPhone franchise that has long been its biggest moneymaker.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Some of the allegations accusing Apple of trying to shield the iPhone from do-everything “super apps,” such as the one Musk has long been trying to create with X, echo an antitrust lawsuit filed against Apple last year by the US Department of Justice.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE:</span></strong><span> </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/world/israel-gaza-update-journalists-killed-in-israeli-strike-on-hospital-in-gaza-health-officials-say/315e209d-c021-4e7f-bc60-99edc9f4ddef" rel="" target="_blank" title="Strike on Gaza hospital that killed reporters, patients, 'tragic mishap'"><strong><span>Strike on Gaza hospital that killed reporters, patients, 'tragic mishap'</span></strong></a></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The complaint casts OpenAI as a threat to humanity bent on putting profits before public safety as it tries to build on its phenomenal growth since the late 2022 release of ChatGPT.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The depiction mirrors one already being drawn in another federal lawsuit that Musk filed last year, alleging OpenAI had betrayed its founding mission to serve as a nonprofit research lab for the public good.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>OpenAI has countered with a lawsuit against Musk, accusing him of harassment — an allegation that the company cited in its response to Monday's antitrust lawsuit.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>“This latest filing is consistent with Mr Musk’s ongoing pattern of harassment,” OpenAI said in a statement.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE:</span></strong><span> </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/erin-patterson-mushroom-triple-murderer-prepares-to-face-her-victims/74768c8b-70b9-4675-942b-fdcb7db11270" rel="" target="_blank" title="'Not deserving of the court's mercy': Life behind bars awaits Erin Patterson"><strong><span>'Not deserving of the court's mercy': Life behind bars awaits Erin Patterson</span></strong></a></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Apple didn't immediately respond to a request for comment.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The crux of the lawsuit revolves around Apple's decision to use ChatGPT as an AI-powered “answer engine” on the iPhone when the built-in technology on its device couldn't satisfy user needs.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The partnership announced last year was part of Apple's late entry into the AI race that was supposed to be powered mostly by its own on-device technology, but the company still hasn't been able to deliver on all its promises.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Apple's own AI shortcomings may be helping drive more usage of ChatGPT on the iPhone, providing OpenAI with invaluable data that's unavailable to Grok and other would-be competitors because it's currently an exclusive partnership.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The alliance has provided Apple with an incentive to improperly elevate ChatGPT in the AI rankings of the iPhone's app store, the lawsuit alleges. </span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Other AI apps from DeekSeek and Perplexity have periodically reached the top spot in the Apple app store's AI rankings in at least some parts of the world since Apple announced its deal with ChatGPT.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The lawsuit doesn't mention the potential threat that ChatGPT could also pose to Apple and the iPhone's future popularity. </span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>As part of its expansion efforts, OpenAI recruited former Apple designer Jony Ive to oversee a project aimed at building an AI-powered device that many analysts believe could eventually mount a challenge to the iPhone.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/how-to-follow-9news-digital/29855bb1-ad3d-4c38-bc25-3cb52af1216f"><em><strong><span>DOWNLOAD THE 9NEWS APP</span></strong></em></a><em><strong><span>: Stay across all the latest in breaking news, sport, politics and the weather via our news app and get notifications sent straight to your smartphone. 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