Here's Why Apple May Be Working On An Electric Car

Venture Beat reported on Sunday that Apple Inc. AAPL will settle a lawsuit brought against it by A123 Systems, a battery company that claimed the Cupertino-based company deliberately poached its employees so it can develop its own car battery technology.

One of the employees Apple is accused of wrongly employing is the former Chief Technology Officer of A123, Mujeeb Ijaz. He was making $294,000 per month and had advanced knowledge and experience in producing batteries for Formula 1 racing cars with "unparalleled power density."

A123 also alleged Apple has poached employees with expert knowledge in batteries from Toshiba, LG, Samsung and Panasonic. The company argued that these employees are working in similar, if not identical, fields at Apple.

"Upon information and belief, Apple is currently developing a large scale battery division to compete in the very same field as A123," A123's lawyers alleged in a court filling. "In connection with that development, beginning in or around June of 2014, defendant Apple embarked on an aggressive campaign to poach employees of A123 and to otherwise raid A123's business."

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Apple and electric vehicle enthusiasts could find the court filing encouraging as it shows the company is aggressive in hiring experts (such as Ijaz) who bring decades of experience working with car batteries.

Venture Beat also noted that several job postings for Apple's office in Cork, Ireland, in which prospective employees are required to have experience in the "automotive" industry.

While the court documents make no specific reference to a battery for an electric vehicle, it seems clear Apple is highly interested in developing a battery of some sorts.