Tesla execs killed in plane crash

News is breaking in the US that a twin-engined Cessna carrying three employees of Tesla has struck a power pole and crashed in the community of East Palo Alto, California.

The aircraft was owned by Doug Bourn, reported by enthusiast site Autoblog, as a "senior electrical engineer for Tesla Motors". According to an eyewitness account in the Autoblog report, the plane struck the pole before exploding and scattering debris across two homes in the area of impact.

"[The plane] hit a power line. Then it exploded... then half hit the next door neighbor's house and the other half hit across the street. We were right in the road," said neighborhood resident Heather Starnes.

Autoblog also reports that there were no injuries sustained on the ground, but a number of homes and a daycare centre were damaged. Authorities are yet to name the plane's occupants, all of whom died in the impact. A fog warning for the area had been issued by the National Weather Service and the decision to take off would have been at the pilot's discretion, says the Federal Aviation Administration.

Tesla CEO Elon Musk was not on the plane and has subsequently issued a statement, published by Autoblog:

Tesla is best known for its battery-electric sports car, which has been driven by the Carsales Network. The roadster (pictured here with the company's Model S sedan) has been co-developed by the company and Lotus, but reportedly won't go into series production. Tesla has also embroiled itself in controversy when it sued market rival Fisker, a company affiliated with the design group that worked on the Model S sedan.  Unable to prove that Fisker had misappropriated Tesla's intellectual property, Tesla lost the case.

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