Electric Motorcycle Maker Mission Motors Runs Out Of Juice

Mission Motors, a small company that generated a lot of excitement for its incredible electric motorcycle prototype, has just filed for bankruptcy.

The company developed an electric superbike that could go up to 150 mph and accelerate from 0 to 60 mph in just 3 seconds, but it never managed to put the bike into production.

DON'T MISS: 2016 Zero Electric Motorcycles: 2 New Bikes, Faster Charging, New Motor Design

Originally called Hum Motors--before renaming itself Mission Motors in 2009--the company divided its electric powertrain and motorcycle parts into a pair of companies in 2013.

Mission Motorcycles was supposed to build electric motorcycles and Mission Motors would focus on electric powertrain projects. However, there hasn’t been much evidence that many bikes were built.

Mark Seeger, the CEO of Mission Motors, filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy on October 15, 2015. Neither Mission Motors, nor Mission Motorcycles, is in business any more.

Recently, former Chief Executive Derek Kaufman claimed that Apple successfully courted their drivetrain engineers during a round of financing.

ALSO SEE: 2015 Electric Motorcycles: Buyer's Guide:

While numerous media reports speculated that the company's downfall was due to Apple poaching numerous employees, it seems far more likely that employees decided to find better jobs upon realizing Mission Motors was unlikely to be sustainable.

When several key engineers left, the financing fell through and Mission Motors ran out of money.

Of the three employees who moved on from Mission Motors to Apple, two left Mission in 2011 and only one left in 2014.