Court Rebuffs Musk's Demand for OpenAI Source Code in Apple AI Lawsuit

In a significant setback for Elon Musk's legal battle against Apple and OpenAI, U.S. Magistrate Judge Hal R. Ray Jr. has rejected demands by Musk's companies (X Corp and xAI) to force OpenAI to hand over its source code. The ruling highlights growing judicial impatience with what the court views as overly aggressive tactics in the discovery phase of this high-stakes AI lawsuit.

The dispute originated last year when Musk's companies alleged Apple's partnership with OpenAI unfairly blocked competitors like xAI's Grok from iOS integration, calling it anti-competitive behavior. While Apple and OpenAI previously failed to get the case dismissed entirely, the discovery process became mired in controversy as X and xAI filed over 135 motions demanding extensive documentation—including what they vaguely termed "source code" from OpenAI.

OpenAI had argued that technical constraints made Grok integration with Apple Intelligence impossible. Musk's legal team sought the source code to challenge this claim, but Judge Ray's ruling dismantled that strategy. In his decision, he stated: "OpenAI’s source code is not relevant to Plaintiffs’ claims and is not within the scope of discovery under Rule 26." He emphasized that sensitive proprietary code warrants extraordinary protection, adding that Musk's companies failed to demonstrate they'd exhausted less intrusive alternatives for gathering evidence.

The judge also dismissed X and xAI's implied ultimatum that OpenAI must either surrender code or admit Grok could work on iOS: "Plaintiffs present their competitor OpenAI with a choice: hand over its most sensitive proprietary information or admit that Grok could have been integrated... The Court does not order OpenAI to produce its source code." Crucially, Ray noted the request lacked proportionality—a legal standard weighing request scope against case needs—given the existence of other discovery methods.

This marks the second recent blow to Musk's legal strategy. Last week, South Korea's government denied X and xAI's request for documents from super-app developer Kakao, similarly citing overly broad demands. The judge's ruling underscores mounting frustration with the case's trajectory, pointing to "countless discovery disputes" clogging the docket in just five months.

The decision sets a notable precedent for tech litigation, affirming strong protections for proprietary algorithms even amid antitrust claims. As discovery continues, Musk's legal team must now pivot to alternative methods to support their allegations—without accessing OpenAI's crown jewels. The court’s stern rebuke raises questions about whether xAI's approach will compromise its broader case against Apple's AI ecosystem.

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