Electric motorcycle start-up Mission Motors is reportedly dunzo after losing a number of its top engineers to Apple, according to Reuters.

Sources close to Mission told Reuters that the San Francisco-based start-up, founded in 2007 with the goal of creating high-performance electric motorcycles, closed up shop in May after about a half dozen its top engineers jumped ship to Apple thanks to Cupertino's "aggressive recruitment" efforts. Apple has also reportedly recruited talent from car makers like Ford, Mercedes-Benz, and Tesla as part of its rumored electric car project.

"Mission had a great group of engineers, specifically electric drive expertise," the company's former Chief Executive Derek Kaufman told Reuters. "Apple knew that — they wanted it, and they went and got it."

Apple did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The news follows a report from The Wall Street Journal last month that Apple is "accelerating" its electric car efforts after spending more than a year investigating whether it could actually make the project, known internally as Titan, a reality. Apple has reportedly given its project leaders the go-ahead to triple the company's 600-person electric vehicle team and is aiming to start shipping its first electric car in 2019.

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Meanwhile, Tesla CEO Elon Musk earlier this month called Apple a "graveyard" of employees his company has fired. "They have hired people we've fired," Musk said. "We always jokingly call Apple the 'Tesla Graveyard.' If you don't make it at Tesla, you go work at Apple. I'm not kidding."

It may be worth it financially, though. Cupertino reportedly offers $250,000 signing bonuses and 60 percent salary increases to Tesla employees who join Apple.

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