Apple Denies Musk’s Claim It’s Burying Grok in the App Store

Like listings on Amazon, Etsy, and Google, Apple’s App Store relies on algorithms and other factors like titles, ratings, keywords, and more to rank apps accordingly. However, it seems that Elon Musk thinks Apple is purposely making it so that xAI’s Grok app doesn’t rank highly on the list. Now, Apple has responded to Musk and denies his assertions.

Apple denies Musk claim of biased rankings

For those unfamiliar, Musk recently made a claim that Grok deserves to be the number one AI app in the App Store. Grok has climbed in the rankings before landing in fifth place, with OpenAI’s ChatGPT taking the first spot. According to Musk, he believes Apple is purposely denying the app the spot, something that the Cupertino company denies.

According to Mark Gurman of Bloomberg, Apple has responded with a statement. The statement reads, “The App Store is designed to be fair and free of bias. We feature thousands of apps through charts, algorithmic recommendations, and curated lists selected by experts using objective criteria.”

Musk has threatened to sue Apple, but it is unclear if this lawsuit will proceed. Musk also claimed that Apple’s actions are an “unequivocal antitrust violation,” and that xAI will take “immediate legal action.” Apple has been hit with many antitrust lawsuits in the past, so this is something that company might want to take more seriously.

Apple’s antitrust history

Apple has faced claims of antitrust activity in the past. The most notable has to be its fight with Epic Games. Epic had accused Apple (and Google) over their app store policies. Both Apple and Google take a cut from the sale of apps and in-game transactions. Given the popularity of Fortnite at its peak, it meant Apple was cashing in hundreds of thousands of dollars just from commissions alone.

Epic wasn’t happy about it and took Apple to court. While Apple mostly won, it did lead to some changes to the App Store. This includes allowing users to install third-party app stores. It was also forced to allow developers to point users towards third-party payment systems. This would allow developers to escape paying Apple the full 30% commission.

However, like we said, we’re not sure what will come of this lawsuit. Musk has an immense public presence, and if he escalates this, regulatory bodies might react.