49ers Coach Shanahan: Tesla Autopilot Engaged in Palo Alto Crash
Kyle Shanahan disclosed Autopilot was active during his accident but maintains driver responsibility regardless of automation.
Conversation activity · last 39 hours peak 8/hr
Summary, timeline and people extracted by Claude from 18 items across 5 sources · 19h ago. Quotes are verbatim.
San Francisco 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan revealed during a press conference that his Tesla had Autopilot engaged when he crashed near downtown Palo Alto four weeks ago. Shanahan took full responsibility for the accident, stating that drivers cannot rely on automation and must remain attentive, regardless of whether Autopilot malfunctioned or he inadvertently disabled it.
- Shanahan disclosed Autopilot was active during his crash but explicitly rejected the notion that automation absolves driver responsibility.
- The accident occurred after Shanahan dropped his phone and took his eyes off the road; he is uncertain whether Autopilot malfunctioned or he accidentally disabled it.
- Tesla's Autopilot has been linked to hundreds of crashes and dozens of deaths historically, though online discourse shows divided opinion on the system's safety relative to human driving.
How it unfolded
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Reaction Social media reactions emerge
Users on Mastodon and Reddit respond to the news, with some criticizing reliance on automation and others defending Tesla's safety record compared to human drivers.
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Report The Verge covers Shanahan's statement
The Verge publishes coverage of Shanahan's press conference remarks, including his statement that he dropped his phone and took his eyes off the road, uncertain whether Autopilot malfunctioned or he accidentally disabled it.
“it is always your fault, whether you're on Autopilot or not. You can't take your eyes off the road. It's a partnership driving, you don't just turn it over to a computer.”
Kyle Shanahan · Bluesky ↗ -
Report Shanahan discloses Autopilot details
During a recent press conference, Shanahan revealed that his Tesla had Autopilot engaged at the time of the accident and shared additional details about the incident.
- 4 weeks quiet
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Event Shanahan crash near Palo Alto
San Francisco 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan was involved in an accident near downtown Palo Alto. Initially, he stated only that the accident was his fault.
What people are saying verbatim
“it is always your fault, whether you're on Autopilot or not. You can't take your eyes off the road. It's a partnership driving, you don't just turn it over to a computer.”
Kyle Shanahan, 49ers head coach · The Verge ↗ · Aug 8
“I've had Autopilot for nine years, so I'm pretty comfortable with it and, you know, who knows what happened when I turned around? Whether it malfunctioned or whether I knocked it off? That's something I don't know yet.”
Kyle Shanahan, 49ers head coach · The Verge ↗ · Aug 8
“It doesn't matter if it was, frankly - you're supposed to remain in control of the vehicle at all times.”
va1us_taaurc, Reddit commenter · Reddit ↗ · Aug 8
“The tech is genuinely safer than a human driver even EU regulators are finding the same conclusion, concluding that it 'makes a positive contribution to road safety'”
moeggz, Reddit commenter · Reddit ↗ · Aug 8
Voices from the web unedited
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He still takes responsibility, saying ‘you don’t just turn it [driving] over to a computer.‘
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See how you’re getting downvoted in a thread where the Tesla hate is very high?? Jalopnik and elektrek are an anti Tesla editorial and has zero credibility Angela chao? Who was DRUNK and drive that car into a lake? Not the cars fault Anything “Tesla deadlisest” is from iseecars So you can refer to the link that I posted showing you that that study…
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Just fucking learn to drive? '..he was using the autopilot feature in his Tesla Model S at the time of the accident and that it occurred after he dropped his phone and took his eyes off the road. Shanahan, who said he has been using autopilot in some form for 9 years and is "pretty comfortable" with the function, wasn't sure whether the accident…
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It’s actually the exact opposite of that. “If FSD (Supervised) was active at any point within five seconds leading up to a collision event, Tesla considers the collision to have occurred with FSD (Supervised) engaged for purposes of calculating collision rates for the Vehicle Safety Report.” https://www.tesla.com/fsd/safety Under methodology on…
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https://www. evshift.com/506199/49ers-coach -says-his-tesla-was-on-autopilot-when-he-crashed/ 49ers coach says his Tesla was on Autopilot when he crashed # Tesla
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Not sure what else they'd call it, though. I used it for 5 hours straight on a road trip yesterday and didn't have to intervene once. Five hours of driving and I didn't have to do shit, just talked, sang along to music and ate while it drove me. That seems like what "autopilot" in a plane does. Push the button and it gets you there. It adjusted…
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It doesn't matter if it was, frankly - you're supposed to remain in control of the vehicle at all times. Personally, I wish our government (and every other worldwide) would just outright ban autopilot/FSD-style features in cars as well as self-driving cars.
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People are fucking crazy man. The conspiracy stories around this are unhinged. Dude got in an accident, was negligent, admitted fault, move on. So excited for preseason to start so we can stop holding on to stupid off-season bs.