Elon Musk vs Tim Cook: War brewing among world's biggest billionaires?

Dubai: The rivalry between two of the world’s most powerful tech figures — Elon Musk and Tim Cook — is spilling into the courts, app rankings, and the future of artificial intelligence.

Musk, the CEO of Tesla, SpaceX, and X, has accused Time Cook's Apple of tilting its App Store in favour of OpenAI’s ChatGPT, sidelining his own AI chatbot Grok and his social platform X.

The billionaire claims Apple’s curation policies make it “impossible for any AI company besides OpenAI to reach #1” — a move he calls an “unequivocal antitrust violation.” He has threatened “immediate legal action” against the iPhone maker.

Apple rejects the allegations, insisting its App Store is “fair and free of bias,” with recommendations driven by charts, algorithms, and editorial curation using objective criteria. The company has faced mounting scrutiny over its platform practices, including EU fines and ongoing legal battles with Epic Games.

The dispute comes as Apple deepens its partnership with OpenAI. ChatGPT has been integrated into Apple’s “Apple Intelligence” rollout, enabling direct use through Siri and writing tools. Musk has argued this relationship is not purely about consumer demand, pointing to editorial promotion of ChatGPT within the App Store.

Not Musk's only battle

This is not Musk’s only battle with OpenAI. In a separate case, the AI company alleges Musk has engaged in a “years-long harassment campaign” through legal claims and public criticism aimed at undermining its success in favour of his AI startup, xAI. US District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers has allowed OpenAI’s counterclaims to proceed, while dismissing some of Musk’s allegations against the company and Microsoft.

OpenAI, which Musk co-founded before leaving its board in 2018, has grown rapidly with Microsoft backing and recently launched GPT-5, offering advanced capabilities to subscribers. Musk has accused the company of abandoning its nonprofit mission, while OpenAI says Musk’s attacks are part of a competitive strategy.

The courtroom drama and App Store fight underscore a broader power struggle at the top of the AI and tech world — with Musk targeting both Cook’s Apple and Sam Altman’s OpenAI as he pushes xAI and Grok into a crowded, high-stakes market. A federal trial in the OpenAI case is set for March in California.

For now, Cook has remained publicly silent on Musk’s latest threats — but the feud between Silicon Valley’s billionaires shows no sign of cooling.