Three employees of Tesla Motors Inc., a manufacture of battery-powered autos, died in a plane crash in California's Silicon Valley that knocked out electricity to companies including Hewlett-Packard Co. and Facebook Inc.

The reports revealed that the twin-engine Cessna 310 plane crashed killing around three people on board. In addition, it also destroyed several electrical transmission lines resulting in ground fires and power outages. However, no injuries were reported on the ground.

The plane is reported to crash at about 8 a. m. yesterday in East Palo Alto, shortly after taking off in fog from Palo Alto Airport.

In addition, it is reported that the crash occurred about a mile northwest of Palo Alto Airport and about 30 miles south of San Francisco.

Tesla Chief Executive Officer Elon Musk said the victims' names were being withheld while relatives were notified.

The incident has affected about 28,000 customers and forced Stanford Hospital and Lucile Packard Children's Hospital to take the support of their emergency systems as crews worked to restore power.

Hawthorne Municipal Airport in suburban Los Angeles was the plane's destination, said Ian Gregor, a spokesman for the U. S. Federal Aviation Administration.