SpaceXAI, X drop antitrust suit against Apple, keep OpenAI in legal crosshairs

Elon Musk's companies xAI and X have decided to drop their antitrust lawsuit against Apple, which accused Apple of favoring OpenAI's ChatGPT over other chatbot makers. The lawsuit, filed last year, accused OpenAI of using anti-competitive conduct to maintain an illegal monopoly in the chatbot space, seeking billions of dollars in damages.

However, the companies have asked a federal judge for permission to voluntarily dismiss the case, according to a court filing reported by Bloomberg News on September 14. Despite the drop of the antitrust suit, the claims the companies made against OpenAI remain, alleging that OpenAI's decision to add ChatGPT to iPhone's operating system hinders competition and innovation in the AI industry, limiting consumer choice.

Musk's companies maintain that Apple's partnership with OpenAI, which allows users to access ChatGPT results within Siri, was never exclusive. Both Apple and OpenAI have denied these claims, with Apple stating that the decision was driven by concerns over OpenAI's alleged violation of contracts, while OpenAI called the lawsuit a pattern of harassment from Musk, whom it co-founded and then left.

The clash between Musk and OpenAI, along with its CEO Sam Altman, has been ongoing since Musk's departure from the company. In May, Musk accused OpenAI of violating its original principles by switching to a for-profit model, a case that was ultimately rejected by the jury due to Musk's untimely filing.

Last month, OpenAI announced it was ending its relationship with Cursor, an AI coding company that was acquired by Musk's SpaceX. This decision was said to be due to OpenAI's contentious relationship with Musk, which resulted from the company's alleged contract violations. Apple and OpenAI, on the other hand, are currently facing their own legal challenges.

Apple had filed a suit against OpenAI in July, alleging that the company and two of its former employees, who were also former Apple workers, had stolen trade secrets. OpenAI has labeled these claims as without merit and is seeking to have the suit dismissed. Apple has responded by accusing an OpenAI employee of destroying evidence in the case.