Altman Challenges Musk Over X Manipulation Amid Apple App Store Dispute

Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI, has publicly challenged Elon Musk, owner of X and CEO of xAI, regarding allegations of platform manipulation on X. The confrontation erupted on August 12, 2025, after Musk accused Apple of antitrust violations, claiming the tech giant unfairly favors OpenAI's ChatGPT in its App Store rankings over his own Grok chatbot. Altman's response directly questioned Musk's integrity, stating, "This is a remarkable claim given what I have heard alleged that Elon does to manipulate X to benefit himself and his own companies and harm his competitors and people he doesn't like."

Musk had threatened "immediate legal action" against Apple, asserting that its App Store practices make it "impossible for any AI company besides OpenAI to reach #1." This came as ChatGPT held the top spot among free apps, while Grok ranked fifth. However, context added to Musk's post noted that other AI apps, such as DeepSeek and Perplexity, had reached the top spot in the App Store since the OpenAI-Apple partnership in June 2024.

Altman's counter-accusation referenced past reports, including a 2023 article from tech news site Platformer, which detailed claims that Musk had implemented a "special system" to boost the visibility of his own tweets on the platform. The OpenAI CEO hinted at a desire for "counter-discovery" should Musk proceed with legal action against Apple, suggesting such a process could reveal more about X's algorithmic practices.

The feud escalated further when Musk called Altman a "liar," citing the high view count on Altman's response despite his fewer followers. Altman then challenged Musk to "sign an affidavit that you have never directed changes to the X algorithm in a way that has hurt your competitors or helped your own companies," promising a personal apology if Musk complied.

This latest public spat marks another chapter in the long-standing rivalry between Musk and Altman, who were co-founders of OpenAI before Musk's departure in 2018. Their competitive dynamic has intensified with Musk's launch of xAI and its Grok chatbot, directly challenging OpenAI's dominance in the rapidly evolving artificial intelligence landscape.