The 2010 Automotive Executive of the Year Innovator Award will be presented to Elon Musk, Chairman, Product Architect and CEO of the California start-up, Tesla Motors, The Detroit Bureau reported.

The announcement came just before three Tesla executives were killed when a private plane they were traveling in crashed at the Palo Alto Airport, near Tesla headquarters. Musk was not on board, Tesla officials said.

“Elon Musk is a man who came from humble beginnings to accomplish the extraordinary,” says Robert Djurovic, executive director of the Automotive Executive of the Year Award program, and director of automotive services North America, DNV Business Assurance. The award, he added, will recognize Musk for his “enlightened vision for the automotive industry’s future.”

Indeed, not only the auto industry. A founder of PayPal, the online financial service, Musk has used the incredible wealth that venture generated to explore his passions and visions. He is, among other things, actively pursuing the goal of commercializing space flight with his SpaceX venture, as well as alternative energy, with SolarCity. But, in an interview with TheDetroitBureau.com, last year, the 38-year-old entrepreneur made it clear that electric propulsion is something that he has wanted to pursue since his childhood.

For his part, the South African-born Musk said, “This award is a tremendous honor, in particular because the nomination comes from my respected peers and colleagues. It demonstrates not only the influence that a relatively small startup can have on the global auto industry, but also the speed with which other car companies and suppliers are joining Tesla in the electric vehicle revolution.”

After initially dismissing battery power, General Motors Vice Chairman Bob Lutz recently credited the Tesla CEO with turning him into a proponent. That change in mindset led Lutz to push for the Chevrolet Volt, the well-publicized extended-range electric vehicle GM will launch late this year.