One of Autopilot's features was active in fatal Tesla crash Police said no one was in the driver's seat at the time of the crash. Lars Moravy, Tesla's vice president of vehicle engineering, said on the company's earnings call Monday that Tesla's adaptive cruise control was engaged and accelerated to 30 mph before the car crashed. Wreckage of the heavily burned Tesla electric car that crashed in Texas killing two people.(Nine) Autopilot is a suite of driver assistance features, including traffic-aware cruise control and Autosteer, according to Tesla's website. Traffic-aware cruise control matches the speed of the car to surrounding traffic, while Autosteer assists in steering in clearly marked lanes, according to Tesla's website.