Apple and ChatGPT maker OpenAI have failed to convince a federal judge to dismiss a lawsuit by Elon Musk’s X Corp accusing them of conspiring to monopolize markets for smartphones and generative AI chatbots.

In his ruling on November 13, U.S. District Judge Mark Pittman in Fort Worth, Texas, said Musk’s social media platform X and startup xAI can move forward for now with their lawsuit, in a preliminary victory for the billionaire entrepreneur in a battle over artificial intelligence dominance. Judge Pittman underlined that the order does not address the claims' merits, which will be decided later.

Musk’s companies claimed in the lawsuit filed in August that Apple has violated antitrust law by exclusively integrating ChatGPT into Apple Intelligence features on iPhones and other Apple devices. The lawsuit alleged Apple had illegally shut out rivals in its partnership with OpenAI.

X and xAI also alleged Apple reinforced the exclusivity by featuring ChatGPT on its “Must-Have Apps” list while sidelining rivals in the App Store.

Apple, in seeking dismissal of the lawsuit, said its OpenAI deal is not exclusive and that the complaint fails to allege any agreement barring Apple from working with other chatbots.

Link to Lawsuit 

Grounds for the lawsuit

Anticompetitive agreement 

The central claim is that Apple and OpenAI have formed a partnership that harms competition.

Monopoly creation 

X Corp alleges this partnership is designed to create a monopoly in the market for AI chatbots on smartphones. Apple allegedly violated antitrust rules by unilaterally integrating OpenAI's ChatGPT into its new Apple Intelligence system for iPhones.

Exclusivity 

The lawsuit specifically targets the exclusive integration of ChatGPT into Apple's "Apple Intelligence" features, arguing it illegally excludes other AI chatbots.

Exclusion of rivals 

X Corp argues that Apple's deal with OpenAI is an anticompetitive move that disadvantages competitors. Other products are excluded, Apple deals unfairly with other AI apps and favored ChatGPT as Apple's default chatbot and excluded Grok.

Other alleged conduct 

The suit also cites Apple's actions, such as featuring ChatGPT on its "Must-Have Apps" list, as a way of reinforcing the exclusivity of the partnership.