Dyson may be set to reveal its own electric car

Dyson may be on the verge of revealing plans to launch its own electric car, according to a new report.

The company, best known for its bagless vacuum cleaners and bladeless fans, would be doing away with another traditionally-key component in its electric car designs, going all electric for power rather than opting for petrol or diesel engines.

This would put it in direct competition with Silicon Valley's Tesla, which makes premium electric cars.

On the hiring highway

According to the Daily Mail, the vehicle is being developed at Dyson's UK headquarters in Wiltshire, with the company on a hiring spree to pick up key talent from the car industry. This is thought to include a designer from Elon Musk's Tesla team (as well as Ricardo Reyes, the company's communications executive) and Ian Minards, formerly a product development director at Aston Martin, hinting at the luxury quality that Dyson may be aspiring to.

It's also been investing heavily in artificial intelligence, a sector where many of Dyson's latest recruits have been plucked. Dyson has pumped £2.5 million into AI development, which also buoys its robot cleaner ambitions.

Dyson has previously bought solid state battery company Sakti3, which develops the kind of technology required by an electric vehicle.

It also secured £174 million in government funding to develop "a new battery electric vehicle", according to documents uncovered last year.

We've contacted Dyson for comment and clarification regarding the latest round of rumors, and will update this story if and when it responds.