Enlarge Image YouTube screengrab via Andrew Krok/Roadshow

Ordinarily, a company acquiring new talent isn't exactly newsworthy. However, when that talent in question has experience in a very specific field, and the company in question doesn't normally dabble in that field, it becomes newsworthy. That's why it's quite interesting that Apple would reportedly hire a vehicle engineer.

Electrek claims it discovered and verified that Apple hired engineer Chris Porritt. If the name doesn't do anything for you, Porritt had two very prominent positions in the auto industry: chief engineer for Aston Martin and, more recently, VP of engineering for Tesla. If your tech company wants to develop either a whole car or certain systems for a car, that's not a bad tree up which to bark.

While Electrek didn't make mention of Porritt's alleged new job title, the outlet does state that Porritt will move to a position within Apple's secretive "special projects" section, which is the part of Apple long rumored to be working on that Apple Car that may or may not actually exist. Rather than being poached from under Elon Musk's nose, it's reported that Porritt had some time off between Tesla and his apparent hiring at Apple.

Apple did not return a request for comment.