Elon Musk, celebrated billionaire and tech pioneer, finds himself embroiled in yet another legal dispute. This time Musk has set his sights on giants Apple and OpenAI, accusing them of forming an iron grip around the AI market. With two of his companies, artificial intelligence startup xAI and social media behemoth X, on his side, he’s bringing the battle to their doorsteps. The controversy revolves around claims of a manipulative ‘monopoly’ from these tech powerhouses.
The accusations put forth by Musk are nothing short of bold, as he claims that Apple and OpenAI have plotted to seize control of the smartphone and generative AI arenas. With the court filing alleging an ‘anticompetitive scheme’ devised to suppress their adversaries, Musk seems determined to shed light on these assumptions. Apparently, the supposed plot involves demoting the status of AI chatbot competitors, including xAI’s product Grok, on Apple’s App Store.
In an unexpected twist, the accusations also take aim at OpenAI. Musk alleges that Apple has been unfairly promoting OpenAI by integrating its ChatGPT chatbot into the company’s products. This, Musk believes, has resulted in an uneven playing field, stacked heavily in favour of OpenAI and against rivals like xAI.
Firing shots at Apple, Musk criticizes the tech mogul for seemingly stifling competition. According to him, Apple’s actions have made it virtually impossible for any AI company outside OpenAI to achieve top ranks in the App Store. This, he states, is a clear breach of antitrust principles.
In a rather scathing response, OpenAI’s CEO, Sam Altman, hit back at Musk. He suggested that the Elon Musk’s claims are outrightly absurd, pointing fingers at the mogul for allegedly manipulating X for personal gain. It’s an uncloaked hint at Musk’s past actions, suggesting he has previously used his influence to favour his own companies at the expense of competitors.
Musk and Altman have a shared past, co-founding OpenAI together in 2015, only for Musk to part ways just three years later over disagreements about the company’s trajectory. Additionally, this isn’t their first courtroom encounter with each other. But with this new lawsuit, it seems their rivalry is set to intensify.
Apple, on the other hand, has maintained silence over Musk’s lawsuit. The company had previously insisted upon the fairness and impartiality of its App Store, a claim that is now under scrutiny. With yet a response awaited, the situation hangs in the balance.
The lawsuit comes at a time when Musk has recently faced legal turmoil. The 54-year-old entrepreneur agreed to cough up a staggering $500 million to settle a case with ex-Twitter employees claiming their rightful severance pay, which Musk allegedly held back following his takeover of the company in 2022.
Musk’s acquisition of Twitter in 2022, which he then rebranded to X, created turmoil as around 6,000 jobs were eliminated. The lawsuit initiated by two former Twitter employees, Courtney McMillian and Ronald Cooper, claimed that Twitter’s 2019 severance plan, promising at least two months of base pay plus an additional week’s pay for every year of service, had not been respected.
The duo also pointed out that senior staff was entitled to six months of base pay, a claim that further spotlighted Musk’s alleged negligence. The lawsuit claimed that most employees had been left high and dry without their deserved severance pay.
Adding to Musk’s legal concerns, he is now faced with fraud accusations. Allegedly, he deceived voters into endorsing a petition supporting the U.S. Constitution, using the allure of a cash prize incentive. Consequently, Jacqueline McAferty, an Arizona resident, spearheaded a lawsuit against Musk and America PAC.
Launching on Election Day, November 5, 2024, the suit claimed that voters were enticed to sign the petition across multiple key states. The insinuation that voters could win monetary rewards led to them inadvertently parting with their personal information, including addresses and phone numbers.
Musk pushed for the case to be dismissed, but U.S. District Judge Robert Pitman, an Obama appointee in 2014, didn’t let Musk off easy. Citing various statements suggesting that a whopping $1 million could indeed be ‘won,’ it seems Musk’s legal battles are far from over.
The post Musk’s Odyssey: Apple and OpenAI Accused of Monopoly appeared first on Real News Now.
About Author
