San Francisco 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan has revealed that his Tesla was operating on Autopilot when he crashed near downtown Palo Alto roughly four weeks ago. He had previously acknowledged the accident but only disclosed the Autopilot detail during a recent press conference, while insisting he still bears full responsibility for what happened. The revelation adds another high-profile name to the list of drivers involved in incidents while using Tesla's driver-assistance system, which remains under scrutiny over its safety record.

Shanahan said he has used Autopilot for nine years and is comfortable with it, but is uncertain whether it malfunctioned or was accidentally disengaged when he turned around. He stressed that responsibility ultimately lies with the driver regardless of whether Autopilot is active, describing it as "a partnership driving" rather than something you can "turn… over to a computer". The article notes that Autopilot has been linked to hundreds of crashes and dozens of deaths over the years, some resulting in legal settlements worth hundreds of millions of dollars.