San Francisco 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan says his Tesla was using the vehicle’s autopilot feature before he was involved in an accident. He describes that he was relying on the driver-assistance system at the time and later reviewed what happened.
Both outlets report that Shanahan says he cannot yet confirm what exactly caused the system to behave as it did. He says he does not know whether autopilot malfunctioned or whether he inadvertently disabled it while dealing with a separate task involving a fallen phone. The Athletic adds that the autopilot appears to switch off when he tries to retrieve the cell phone.
Overall, the accounts agree on Shanahan’s claim about autopilot being engaged prior to the crash and that the circumstances leading to it disengaging are not fully known. They differ mainly in how specific they are about the moment autopilot went off, but both attribute the potential change to his actions around the fallen phone rather than presenting a definitive cause.
