Elon Musk’s X (formerly Twitter) now holds the top spot on the Apple App Store’s “Top Free” news apps chart in the U.S., followed by Nextdoor, Reddit, Substack, NewsBreak, and Watch Duty. Grok — Musk’s AI chatbot integrated into X (and Tesla vehicles, as of last month) — is currently the fifth most popular app overall in the U.S., according to App Store rankings.
Musk once again called out Apple on Monday, this time over what he sees as selective promotion in the App Store.
“Hey @Apple App Store, why do you refuse to put either 𝕏 or Grok in your ‘Must Have’ section when 𝕏 is the #1 news app in the world and Grok is #5 among all apps? Are you playing politics? What gives? Inquiring minds want to know,” Musk said in a post on X.
The Tesla CEO went on to accuse Apple of playing favorites. “And why is ChatGPT literally in every list where you have editorial control?” he inquired in a follow-up post.
Musk’s remarks come amid Apple’s ongoing push to expand ChatGPT integration across its platforms. The billionaire has previously criticized Apple’s partnership with OpenAI, accusing the company of favoring competing AI products while snubbing his own efforts.
Earlier this year, Musk merged X with his artificial intelligence startup, xAI, saying at the time that it was “just the beginning” for a new era of AI-powered social media. A couple of months ago, Musk also said he would be refocusing on X, xAI, and Tesla after ending his brief stint at the White House.
For Musk, App Store visibility appears to be the next battleground as X and Grok grow in popularity. With both platforms seeing rapid adoption, his latest accusation adds another layer to his ongoing rivalry with Apple and OpenAI.
