Tesla Motors plane crash kills three employees

Planetesla
A plane crash today in Palo Alto, California claimed the lives of three Tesla Motors employees.

The Tesla Motors plane crash occurred in a residential neighborhood around 8 a.m.—sparking house fires, downing power lines, and destroying several cars.

The plane (a Cessna 310) crashed as it was attempting to take off in heavy fog.

"We are withholding their identities as we work with the relevant
authorities to notify the families," Elon Musk, Tesla's CEO, said in a
statement.

However the San Francisco Chronicle is reporting that the plane belonged to a senior Tesla Engineer.

"The plane was owned by Doug Bourn, a senior electrical engineer for Tesla. It was not known whether Bourn was onboard.

A biography for Bourn posted by the American Society of Mechanical
Engineers in 2007 says he shares responsibility for the design and
testing of the power electronics module for the Tesla Roadster. Before
coming to the company, he spent 10 years at IDEO, a product design and
development company in Palo Alto."

"We are working on recovery of the deceased," said Menlo Park Fire Protection Chief Harold Schapelhouman."As tragic as this is, we were very fortunate that no one else got hurt," Schapelhouman he added.

Roadster1
Tesla builds and sells the Tesla Roadster and is currently working on bringing the more affordable Tesla Model S to market.

This is a crucial time for Tesla as the company is planning to go public with an initial IPO.

According to Fox News Tesla founder and CEO called today, "the worst day in Telsa's history."

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