According to 9to5Mac, new court filings reveal that xAI’s lawsuit against Apple and OpenAI, filed in US District Court, is less about AI chatbot competition and more about Elon Musk’s fixation on turning X into a “super app.” The complaint alleges Apple “forecloses rivals” by promoting ChatGPT in its “Must-Have Apps” list and through an exclusive integration into iOS, which xAI claims protects Apple’s smartphone monopoly. After Grok 4’s global free release helped it climb to 5th in the App Store rankings last July, Musk accused Apple of sandbagging its visibility, a claim refuted by users. Now, xAI is seeking documents from foreign super app companies like South Korea’s Kakao Corporation (KakaoTalk) and Alipay, mentioned nearly 80 times in the original filing, arguing these apps prove customers could switch from iPhones if not for restrictive rules. Judge Mark Pittman has allowed the case to proceed, requesting more evidence before a potential dismissal.
The super app subplot
Here’s the thing: the core grievance here seems almost entirely separate from Grok’s spot in the charts. The lawsuit’s summary talks a big game about AI monopolists, but the legal discovery phase is telling. xAI is now fishing for evidence from KakaoTalk and Alipay, with plans likely to target others like WeChat, Grab, and Gojek. Their argument? That “super apps allow customers to switch away from the iPhone,” and Apple‘s deal with OpenAI is a tactic to prevent that by keeping its ecosystem locked down.
So what’s really going on? Basically, this looks like Musk using the legal system to blame Apple for X’s failure to deliver on its long-promised evolution into an “everything app.” He’s pointing to successful Asian super apps as proof it can be done, suggesting Apple’s rules are the only thing holding X back. But that’s a massive oversimplification. The cultural, economic, and regulatory landscapes that birthed WeChat in China or Grab in Southeast Asia are completely different from those in the US or Europe. You can’t just copy-paste that model.
A hand-wavy legal argument
Leveraging Grok’s App Store ranking as the initial complaint feels like a legal backdoor. It’s the hook to get into court, but the real goal appears to be compelling Apple to reshape iOS to accommodate X’s super app ambitions. This is reminiscent of Epic Games’ strategy, though Epic’s fight was squarely about app store fees and payment systems. Musk’s angle is more abstract: he’s arguing that Apple’s partnership with OpenAI is anticompetitive because it stifles the development of rival super apps, which in turn protects the iPhone monopoly.
But think about it. Are the App Store rules that govern KakaoTalk in South Korea really that different from those for X in the US? The successful Asian apps Musk cites all operated and scaled under broadly similar frameworks. Their success hinged on factors like leapfrogging desktop computing, widespread mobile payment adoption, and specific local needs—not on special exemptions from Apple. To claim Apple’s rules are the primary barrier for X feels… convenient.
What happens next
Judge Pittman isn’t throwing this out yet, which means xAI gets to go on its fishing expedition. They’ll likely subpoena more super app companies, building a mountain of documents about how these platforms function. The question is whether any of it will prove that Apple’s specific actions, and not a myriad of other market forces, are what doomed X’s super app dream.
And look, are some of the underlying antitrust claims worth examining? Sure. Apple’s walled garden and its exclusive, deeply integrated partnerships are absolutely a valid topic for regulatory scrutiny. But if you’re going to sue, at least be honest about the “why.” This lawsuit seems less about Grok getting a fair shake and more about Musk seeking a legal cudgel to force a platform change he couldn’t achieve through product execution. Whether the courts will buy this novel linking of AI chatbots to super app viability is the multi-billion dollar question. The Kakao request and the Alipay request show where xAI’s head is at. It’s going to be a long, weird discovery process.
