Texas Judge Denies Dismissal of Musk's Antitrust Suit Against Apple, OpenAI

A federal judge in Texas has denied motions by Apple and OpenAI to dismiss an antitrust lawsuit filed by Elon Musk's companies, X Corp. and xAI, allowing the case to advance in a dispute over competition in artificial intelligence and smartphone markets.

The ruling, issued Thursday by U.S. District Judge Mark Pittman in the Northern District of Texas, came in response to the lawsuit originally filed in August. It accuses Apple and OpenAI of conspiring to dominate generative AI and smartphone sectors through Apple's integration of OpenAI's ChatGPT into its devices, including as a feature in the Siri virtual assistant and Apple Intelligence system. The plaintiffs seek billions of dollars in damages, claiming the partnership creates barriers for competitors, limits consumer choice and stifles innovation by giving ChatGPT an unfair advantage.

Judge Pittman stated that the allegations warrant further examination through summary judgment proceedings under federal rules, but emphasized that the decision does not prejudge the merits of the claims. The court has ordered Apple and OpenAI to submit additional filings to explain their positions.

According to the complaint, Apple's...