Tesla in Autopilot self-driving mode crashes into parked police cruiser

But investigators also noted the autopilot system isn't designed to reliably prevent crashes. A Tesla that the driver said was in Autopilot mode struck a parked police vehicle in Laguna Beach, Calif. LOS ANGELES -- The latest crash involving a Tesla in Autopilot mode didn't turn tragic, as some past ones have, but certainly was embarrassing. A Tesla Model S veered into a parked police cruiser Tuesday, severely damaging both vehicles in Laguna Beach, Calif., a coastal community south of Los Angeles. The driver, a 65-year-old from Laguna Niguel, Calif., told officers that he had engaged the car's partial self-driving system, called Autopilot.