On September 14, xAI and X Corp. voluntarily dismissed Apple from their lawsuit in Texas federal court, leaving OpenAI as the sole defendant in the antitrust suit accusing the two companies of conspiring to dominate the AI chatbot market.

From “Spyware” to a Quiet Withdrawal

The lawsuit stems from June 2024, when Apple announced the integration of ChatGPT into iOS features, including Siri. By August 2025, Musk officially filed suit, calling the relationship between Apple and OpenAI “creepy spyware” and alleging that the partnership granted OpenAI access to 80% of the chatbot market share, excluding rivals like Musk’s own Grok.

Both Apple and OpenAI sought to dismiss the lawsuit but failed. In November 2025, U.S. District Judge Mark Pittman denied the motion to dismiss, allowing the case to proceed. Apple maintained its position that its partnership with OpenAI was “never exclusive.”

The dismissal was approved by the court without public details regarding any settlement or the reasons behind the decision.

By dropping Apple from the suit, Musk’s legal team avoids having to prove that one of the world’s most valuable companies conspired to harm competition in a market in which Apple does not directly operate.

Focusing on OpenAI builds a cleaner legal narrative: a single company that, through aggressive partnership strategies and market positioning, came to dominate the generative AI chatbot sector.

For Apple, the dismissal removes a significant legal risk. The company can continue expanding its AI partnerships without the threat of anti-competitive allegations.

OpenAI Remains the Sole Target

The lawsuit is now focused entirely on allegations that OpenAI monopolized the chatbot market. OpenAI has described Musk’s legal campaigns as “harassment.” This is not the first instance—a separate prior lawsuit filed by Musk against OpenAI was dismissed in May 2026 due to the statute of limitations.