Kyle Shanahan shifts blame to Tesla while delving into more details about his car crash

2025 was a big bounce back season for the San Francisco 49ers. After going 6-11 in 2024, Kyle Shanahan put together one of his best season-long coaching performances. Despite dealing with never-ending injuries, the Niners went 12-5 and won a playoff game.

That was enough to make 2026 a potentially franchise-altering season. In order for the team to maximize its potential, injuries must be kept to a minimum, as should distractions. This summer, though, Shanahan ended up setting his team back in both of those regards himself.

Initially kept private until the media floodgates opened, Shanahan was involved in a car crash that left him with multiple injuries a few weeks ago. Shanahan admitted he was at fault for the accident, saying last week that he was looking for his phone, which fell off of his lap, when his car veered into oncoming traffic.

Kyle Shanahan’s Tesla Model S may have malfunctioned during car crash

This week, Shanahan gave some more details on the crash. While doing so, he began pondering if the true culprit was actually his Tesla Model S. He still blames himself, and accepts that it was his fault, but Shanahan isn’t positive that the autopilot function on his Tesla may have gone haywire while he was reaching for his phone.

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. But regardless… 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, and it’s a good lesson, no matter how comfortable I am with that, that I believe someday could save my life or someone else’s

Many people have come to Shanahan’s defense and cited multiple stories of the autopilot feature on Tesla vehicles malfunctioning. There may be a lawsuit coming Tesla’s way, courtesy of Shanahan.