After Musk's Apple jab, Altman accuses him of manipulating X
Altman's reply comes to Musk's recent post on X (formerly Twitter), where he claimed that Apple had made it 'impossible for any AI company besides OpenAI to reach #1 in the App Store.'
The OpenAI CEO also shared a link to an article on Platformer titled 'Yes, Elon Musk created a special system for showing you all his tweets first.' The latest clash is another addition to a long list of public feuds between the two tech leaders, who have previously publicly disagreed over things like AI safety and business strategy ever since Musk stepped down from OpenAI's board back in 2018. Following their argument, Musk even attempted to acquire OpenAI's non-profit arm, but ultimately failed to do so.
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. https://t.co/HlgzO4c2iC
— Sam Altman (@sama) August 12, 2025
While Musk did not provide any evidence to support his claim that Apple violated antitrust regulations, the multi-billionaire did say that Apple was refusing to put X or Grok in App Store's 'Must have' section despite the social media platform being the number one news app in the world and Grok holding on to the number five spot amongst all apps.
In case you are wondering, OpenAI's ChatGPT currently holds the top position in the App Store's 'Top Free Apps' section for iPhones in the United States, while Grok is ranked fifth. Musk's claim comes after a United States judge ruled that Apple had indeed violated a court order, which asked the tech giant to allow competition in the App Store, and initiated a criminal contempt investigation.
Earlier this year, in April, the Cupertino-based tech giant was also slapped with a 500 million euro fine by the European Union's antitrust body, where it claimed Apple had put 'technical and commercial restrictions', which prevented app developers from redirecting to alternate billing systems outside the App Store.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Economic Times
16 minutes ago
- Economic Times
Tempest at sea: Nayara's sanctioned cargo quietly slips into new hands
Synopsis Nayara Energy, grappling with EU sanctions, is resorting to ship-to-ship transfers to continue fuel exports. A gasoline shipment from Nayara was moved from the Tempest Dream to the Wu Tai off Oman's coast. Both vessels have faced sanctions related to the Russian oil trade. iStock Representative image One of the first cargoes shipped by Nayara Energy Ltd. after it was hit by EU sanctions has been transferred to another tanker at sea, evidence the Indian refiner is trying to keep exporting fuel. The Tempest Dream completed a ship-to-ship transfer on Thursday in the waters off Oman to move the gasoline shipment to Wu Tai, a larger tanker, according to a Bloomberg News review of ship-tracking data and satellite images. Tempest Dream then indicated that it would head back to Vadinar, Nayara's terminal in western India. The embattled refiner, which is 49%-owned by Russia's Rosneft PJSC, has found itself being shunned after it was sanctioned last month by the European Union. That's left it grappling with a lack of feedstock and has seen it cut run rates at its Vadinar refinery. Ship-to-ship transfers are a common tactic to mask the origins of cargoes, and may allow Nayara to keep exporting fuel. The waters off Oman are a popular place to do Dream was carrying more than 360,000 barrels of gasoline before the transfer on Tuesday, according to Vortexa. It's now sitting higher in the water, Bloomberg and Kpler data show, indicating that it's shed at least some of the fuel. The Wu Tai, which is used for floating storage, is now holding around 460,000 barrels, with room to take more. Fuel exports from Nayara that were already on water before the EU sanctioned the refiner on July 18 have also faced delays in finding takers. One cargo was diverted to China on Tuesday after finding a new buyer, four weeks after it was picked up from Vadinar. Tempest Dream, previously named Unite, was sanctioned by the UK for its involvement in the Russian oil trade, while Wu Tai was blacklisted by the UK and the EU for the same reason. Tempest Dream's owner is listed as Istanbul-based Tempest Maritime Services Trading on S&P's maritime database, while Wu Tai's owner is listed as Namas Maritime Inc., which is based in the Seychelles. The database did not provide contact numbers or email addresses for the email to Nayara seeking comment sent outside of business hours wasn't immediately answered.
Hans India
18 minutes ago
- Hans India
Coimbatore Corporation's motion sensor streetlight pilot project to save energy
To reduce electricity consumption and promote eco-friendly urban lighting, the Coimbatore City Corporation has begun installing motion sensor streetlights powered entirely by solar energy. These lights, equipped with solar panels, aim to cut dependence on the electricity board while lowering carbon emissions and eliminating greenhouse gas output. Under a pilot project, 122 motion sensor streetlights have been set up at five locations, with plans underway to identify sites for an additional 100 units. Officials believe that scaling up this initiative could significantly reduce the need for new electricity connections, which involve costly deposits, line charges, and monthly bills. A senior corporation official explained that installing regular streetlights is often a cumbersome and expensive process, while solar-powered motion sensor models require only a one-time investment. The corporation has chosen auto-dimming technology, where lights operate at 50 per cent brightness and switch to full brightness when motion is detected within four metres of the pole. Other models available in the market include total blackout variants or those activated solely by movement. The system features an automatic on-off function using either motion or dusk-to-dawn sensors. The dimming capability not only conserves energy but also extends battery life. Each unit comes with a two-year warranty and is designed for durability, though officials note that the solar panels require cleaning every two months and batteries must be replaced every three to five years, depending on usage. Corporation Commissioner M. Sivaguru Prabakaran acknowledged that dust accumulation on the panels remains a challenge, but stressed that daily cleaning is not necessary. Currently, there is no centralised monitoring system for these lights. Future plans include installing motion sensor streetlights at 42 overhead water tank locations across newly added municipal areas, where obtaining new power connections would otherwise be required. An executive from a Kerala-based manufacturer said their models can detect motion up to 10 metres away, even from animals, making them suitable for a range of environments. He noted that commercial establishments, apartment complexes, and educational institutions are increasingly adopting sensor-based street lighting for cost and energy efficiency. If the pilot proves successful, the corporation expects the technology to become a key part of the city's public lighting strategy, contributing to both environmental sustainability and operational savings.
The Hindu
18 minutes ago
- The Hindu
Elon Musk clashes with Sam Altman after accusing App Store of favouring OpenAI
Elon Musk has accused Apple of unfairly favouring ChatGPT on its App Store and threatened legal action, triggering a fiery exchange with OpenAI CEO Sam Altman on Tuesday. "Apple is behaving in a manner that makes it impossible for any AI company besides OpenAI to reach #1 in the App Store, which is an unequivocal antitrust violation," Musk said in a post on his social media network X on Monday, without providing evidence to back his claim. "xAI will take immediate legal action," he said, referring to his own artificial intelligence company. X users responded by pointing out that China's DeepSeek AI hit the top spot in the App Store early this year, and Perplexity AI recently ranked number one in the App Store in India. DeepSeek and Perplexity compete with OpenAI and Musk's startup xAI. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman called the accusation "remarkable" in a response on X on Tuesday, adding that Musk was alleged to "manipulate X to benefit himself and his own companies and harm his competitors and people he doesn't like." Musk then called Altman a "liar" in a heated exchange, prompting the OpenAI boss to ask whether Musk would sign a sworn legal statement declaring that he had never ordered changes to the X algorithm to harm competitors or help his own companies. OpenAI and xAI both released new versions of their AI assistants, ChatGPT and Grok, in the past week. App Store rankings listed ChatGPT as the top free iPhone app on Tuesday, with Grok in fifth place. Apple did not respond immediately to a request for comment. Factors going into App Store rankings include user engagement, reviews and the number of downloads. OpenAI and Apple announced an alliance in June last year to enhance iPhones and other devices with ChatGPT features. ChatGPT-5 rolled out free to the nearly 700 million people who use it weekly, OpenAI said in a briefing with journalists last week. Tech industry rivals Amazon, Google, Meta, Microsoft and xAI have been pouring billions of dollars into artificial intelligence since the blockbuster launch of the first version of ChatGPT in late 2022. Chinese startup DeepSeek shook up the AI sector early this year with a model that delivers high performance using less costly chips. OpenAI filed counterclaims against multi-billionaire Musk in April, accusing its former co-founder of waging a "relentless campaign" to damage the organization after it achieved success without him. OpenAI alleged in legal documents filed at the time in the northern California federal court that Musk became hostile toward the company after abandoning it years before its breakthrough achievements with ChatGPT. The lawsuit was another round in a bitter feud between the generative AI (genAI) start-up and the world's richest person, who accused OpenAI of betraying its founding mission in a lawsuit last year. OpenAI alleged in its countersuit that Musk "made it his project to take down OpenAI, and to build a direct competitor that would seize the technological lead, not for humanity but for Elon Musk." Musk founded his own genAI startup, xAI, in 2023 to compete with OpenAI and the other major AI players.
