Tesla’s Musk says California crash killed some company officials

Elon Musk, chief executive of Tesla Motors Co., said a plane crash in Silicon Valley killed company officials.

Details about the accident and names of the victims were not released.

“We’re working to confirm the identities and inform the families,” Musk said. For Tesla, the accident comes as the San Carlos-based automaker prepares to sell shares to the public and announce the location of its U.S. assembly site to make battery-powered cars. Tesla received about $465 million in federal loans last year to expand production of vehicles and battery packs. It has delivered about 1,000 units of its $109,000 Roadster.

The Cessna was registered to Air Unique Inc. The address for that company is also the home address for Tesla engineer Doug Bourn, according to online listing service Switchboard.com. Musk said in an e-mail that Tesla was working with “relevant authorities” to reach the victims’ families.