Elon Musk’s X Corp and SpaceXAI dropped their antitrust lawsuit against Apple on September 14, 2026, ending a legal challenge that accused the iPhone maker of favoring OpenAI over rival artificial intelligence chatbots, according to court filings. The voluntary dismissal leaves OpenAI as a remaining defendant while raising new questions about the high-stakes legal battles reshaping the generative AI market.
Antitrust Claims and Market Dominance Allegations
The original lawsuit, filed in August 2025 in United States federal court in Fort Worth, Texas, targeted an agreement that made OpenAI’s ChatGPT the exclusive generative AI chatbot integrated into Apple’s operating system. According to X Corp and SpaceXAI—the developer of the Grok chatbot—the deal granted ChatGPT access to billions of user prompts through iOS features like Siri, Apple’s Writing Tools, and the iPhone camera. The complaint alleged that this integration shut rival AI companies out of the market and made it difficult for competitors to achieve necessary scale.
Beyond the iOS integration, the filing accused Apple of actively disadvantaging competing AI chatbots inside the App Store. According to X Corp and SpaceXAI, Apple delayed app reviews and manipulated rankings to bolster its partner’s position. The companies argued that the two tech giants combined their respective smartphone and artificial intelligence dominance in violation of the Sherman Antitrust Act and Texas antitrust law.
Legal Hurdles and Ongoing Litigation Against OpenAI
The case survived a major procedural hurdle last November when US District Judge Mark Pittman rejected dismissal motions filed by both Apple and OpenAI. Despite that ruling allowing the litigation to move forward, X Corp and SpaceXAI filed a motion on September 14, 2026, to dismiss all claims against Apple. The court filing provided no specific reason for dropping Apple from the lawsuit and did not disclose whether the parties reached a settlement.
While dismissing Apple, X Corp and SpaceXAI stated that they will continue pursuing separate claims against OpenAI, which remains a defendant in the lawsuit. The ongoing dispute runs parallel to Musk’s broader legal campaign against OpenAI. OpenAI previously accused Musk of waging a “campaign of lawfare,” pointing to a separate lawsuit filed by Musk that alleged OpenAI had abandoned its original mission to build artificial intelligence for the benefit of humanity rather than profit. That separate challenge was defeated in court in May.
Related reading