SAN FRANCISCO  A small plane crashed into a residential neighborhood in East Palo Alto Wednesday, killing three employees of Tesla Motors, the California electric car company, and causing widespread power disruptions, officials said.

The plane, a twin-engine Cessna 310, crashed in foggy weather shortly after takeoff from Palo Alto Airport about 8 a.m., said Ian Gregor, a Federal Aviation Administration spokesman. It either struck or clipped three transmission lines, disabling a 100-foot electrical tower, said Joe Molica, a spokesman for PG&E.

The crash set two homes and several vehicles on fire. There were no reported injuries on the ground, said Doris Cohen, crime analyst at the East Palo Alto Police Department.

The plane was bound for Hawthorne Municipal Airport, which is near the Los Angeles International Airport. One of the Tesla employees was piloting the plane, according to a source briefed on the incident who requested anonymity because Tesla had not yet publicly confirmed details of the crash. The headquarters of SpaceX, Mr. Musk’s spaceship company, is in Hawthorne, and Tesla, which is based in Palo Alto, uses space in the SpaceX building.