Apple pushes back against Musk's xAI lawsuit over OpenAI partnership

Apple has maintained that its decision to choose OpenAI over Musk’s xAI was a fair call. In a lawsuit filed in August, Musk’s AI venture and X Corp. claimed Apple unfairly leaned toward OpenAI, arguing it slowed innovation and left consumers with fewer alternatives.

In court papers filed on Tuesday, Apple, however, countered that its choice of OpenAI doesn’t imply exclusivity, as it intends to work with other generative AI partners as well.

Musk asserts that Apple’s arrangement with OpenAI locks out competitors

Elon Musk’s companies are seeking billions of dollars in damages in their lawsuit against Apple, arguing that its partnership with OpenAI undermines competition. Musk claims the arrangement “locked up markets to maintain their monopolies and prevent innovators like X and xAI from competing.” 

He also claimed their collaboration effectively guarantees ChatGPT’s place at the top of the App Store’s rankings, denying other apps the same visibility.

OpenAI has so far dismissed the claims, saying the filing fits Musk’s familiar pattern of harassment. Apple is also urging a judge in Fort Worth, Texas, to throw out the lawsuit, arguing the alleged antitrust claims rest on nothing more than layered speculation.

For its defense, the company’s legal team stated that X Corp. was advocating for an “all or nothing” approach to AI partnerships, regardless of business or technical considerations, an obligation they argued the antitrust law does not impose. They stated, “Of course, the antitrust laws do not require that.”

Musk accused OpenAI of stealing trade secrets 

In another lawsuit, Musk has accused OpenAI of stealing its trade secrets. The suit contends OpenAI recruited former xAI employees to gain access to trade secrets linked to Grok, especially those with knowledge of their bot’s source code, a move he says tilts the AI playing field. Musk accused OpenAI of trying to gain an unfair advantage in the race to develop AI technology.

xAI also claimed that the suspected campaign surfaced while it was examining accusations against ex-employee Xuechen Li, charged in another case with passing information to OpenAI. Li has not answered the allegations. The company also stated that OpenAI hired Jimmy Fraiture, a former engineer, alongside Li. Their complaint also includes a screenshot of an email that Alex Spiro, Musk’s lawyer, sent in July, accusing a former executive of failing to uphold confidentiality obligations.

OpenAI has, however, insisted that they have no “tolerance for any breaches of confidentiality, nor any interest in trade secrets from other labs.” Musk’s legal actions against the AI giant are the latest chapter in his bitter dispute with Altman, which intensified as ChatGPT creator grew in power.

At one point, Musk even sought to block the company’s conversion into a for-profit entity.

Musk had teamed up with Altman to launch OpenAI in 2015, but walked away in 2018 after losing a fight over control. Since then, he’s accused Altman of straying from their original mission to serve humanity, pointing to the Microsoft partnership as proof that the company now puts profits first.

Altman and his camp push back, saying Musk supported that approach back then and is only taking shots out of frustration now.

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