“Locked Up Markets”: Musk’s Core Argument Against the Apple-OpenAI Pact

The entire legal case brought by Elon Musk’s xAI against Apple and OpenAI can be distilled down to three words from the complaint: “locked up markets.” This is the core argument that Musk’s lawyers will have to prove—that the partnership between the two companies is not just beneficial, but is a deliberate, illegal strategy to foreclose competition.
The lawsuit contends that the integration of ChatGPT into Apple’s OS effectively creates a captive audience. For the hundreds of millions of iPhone users, ChatGPT becomes the easiest, most accessible, and most deeply embedded AI tool. Musk argues this “locks up” those users, making it nearly impossible for any other AI service to reach them, regardless of its quality or innovation.
This legal theory is a classic antitrust argument applied to the modern digital ecosystem. It alleges that a dominant platform (Apple) has used its power to unfairly favor a service provider (OpenAI), thereby harming the competitive process. The lawsuit seeks to “unlock” the market by dissolving the partnership.
OpenAI will likely counter that their deal is not a lock-up but a feature that enhances the user experience, and that consumers are still free to download other AI apps. The court’s interpretation of whether this partnership truly “locks up” the market will be the central and deciding factor in this landmark case.