Elon Musk’s X Corp. and SpaceXAI have dropped Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) from their antitrust lawsuit without publicly explaining what ended the dispute, prompting a federal judge to demand any agreements behind the resolution.
Judge Demands Details Behind Apple Resolution
U.S. District Judge Mark Pittman on Tuesday ordered Musk’s companies to deliver, for private in-camera review, “any agreement or combination of agreements with Apple” related to resolving their claims. The companies must comply by noon Thursday, Sept. 17, while Apple may also respond by the same deadline.
The order followed an emergency motion from OpenAI, which remains a defendant. Reuters reported that X and SpaceXAI told the court Monday they had “resolved their claims” against Apple, but their filing did not explain the decision or say whether the parties reached a settlement. OpenAI said it did not participate in the agreement and argued that its terms could affect its defense.
Musk’s Apple Antitrust Fight Takes Turn
The development marks a sharp turn from Musk’s earlier fight with Apple. X and then-xAI sued Apple and OpenAI for billions of dollars in August 2025, alleging their ChatGPT partnership represented “two monopolists joining forces to ensure their continued dominance.” Musk had previously threatened Apple with antitrust action over alleged App Store favoritism toward ChatGPT.
Pittman allowed the case to proceed in November 2025 while stressing that his decision did not address the merits. Apple argued that choosing “one partner first is not unlawful,” while OpenAI described Musk’s litigation as a broader campaign against the company.
Apple Broadens AI Strategy Beyond OpenAI
Apple and OpenAI announced their partnership in June 2024, integrating ChatGPT into Siri, Writing Tools and other Apple experiences. OpenAI said users could access ChatGPT without creating an account, while Apple said users controlled when information went to ChatGPT.
Apple’s AI strategy has since broadened. In January, it struck a multi-year deal with Alphabet Inc.‘s (NASDAQ:GOOG) (NASDAQ:GOOGL) Google to use Gemini models for a revamped Siri. Apple now says that its new Siri AI architecture uses Apple Foundation Models developed with Google’s Gemini technology.
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