X and SpaceXAI move to drop Apple from antitrust lawsuit, keep claims against OpenAI

X and SpaceXAI, the companies formerly known as X and xAI, have filed a motion to dismiss their claims against Apple in an ongoing antitrust lawsuit against the company and OpenAI. The lawsuit alleges that Apple and OpenAI conspired to prevent competing AI apps from succeeding on Apple's App Store. Initially, Elon Musk accused both companies of collusion to give OpenAI an unfair edge over rival AI services. However, Apple and OpenAI have both denied all allegations.

Since the lawsuit entered the discovery phase, both parties have been engaged in a legal battle over the exchange of internal documents and communications. In a recent development, a federal judge ordered Elon Musk to provide potentially relevant emails from his Tesla and SpaceX accounts, which OpenAI claimed were used to conduct xAI business.

Today, X and SpaceXAI have filed a motion to voluntarily dismiss their claims against Apple, while maintaining their claims against OpenAI. The plaintiffs have resolved their claims against Apple, and under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 41(a)(2), they seek to dismiss those claims with prejudice. This means that X and SpaceXAI do not intend to bring the same claims against Apple in the future.

It is worth noting that the dismissal is not final, as Judge Mark Pittman must still approve it. The case against OpenAI now resembles a spiritual successor to Musk's separate lawsuit against the company, Sam Altman, Greg Brockman, and Microsoft. In the latter case, Musk accused OpenAI of abandoning its nonprofit mission and improperly enriching its executives at his expense. However, a jury rejected Musk's claims in May, finding that they had been filed too late.