A National Football League coach driving his Tesla Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA) vehicle was recently involved in a car crash. Instead of blaming Tesla and the car’s self-driving features, the coach is taking responsibility and shares an important lesson as autonomous vehicles advance.
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Kyle Shanahan Car Crash
One of Tesla’s current biggest pushes for growth is FSD (full self-driving) subscriptions, which come with a monthly fee for users. FSD is the company’s supervised self-driving, while Autopilot is the company’s older driver assistance system. San Francisco 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan recently found out some of the big differences between the two.
On July 14, Shanahan was involved in a vehicle accident when his Tesla Model S shifted into oncoming traffic and hit a 21-year-old woman driving an SUV.
The accident, reported by Electrek, left Shanahan with several injuries. The 49ers coach had a concussion, broken nose, three broken ribs, a broken hand and 40 stitches. The driver of the SUV was not seriously hurt, according to the report.
Shanahan told reporters he was using Tesla Autopilot before the crash. He reached for his phone, which fell, and briefly took his eyes off the road. The accident happened with Shanahan driving home at 6:12 p.m. on the July night, going around 20 miles per hour.
Unlike Autopilot, which is an older system that requires constant driver supervision, FSD can perform driving tasks and, according to Tesla CEO Elon Musk, is safe enough to allow people to text while it is deployed
Shanahan isn’t blaming his car or Tesla for the accident and also made sure to correct the record after it was initially reported that the other driver was at fault.
"It’s always your fault. Whether you’re on autopilot or not, you can’t take your eyes off the road," Shanahan told reporters.
Shanahan said he is unsure if the autopilot malfunctioned or if it was switched off when he turned around to find his phone that had fallen.
"Anytime you cause an accident that can be avoided, you feel pretty stupid, especially when you have a chance to hurt someone else."
The NFL coach admits he’s had Autopilot for nine years and is comfortable using it.
Autopilot is currently a Level 2 driver-assistance system, which requires a human to be fully responsible at all times, even as the vehicle does things like steer, brake and accelerate on its own. Autopilot doesn’t change lanes, as FSD does.
Advancing Autonomy
Shanahan’s accident provides an important lesson that there is currently a limited number of vehicles that operate on the road with complete autonomy.
Tesla’s FSD is Level 2 and is supposed to have a driver who remains attentive and is responsible to take over the driving at any time.
The NFL coach looked away from the vehicle for several seconds and that was the difference needed to cause an accident. Using self-driving software didn’t help prevent the accident and Shanahan knows it.
Shanahan taking the blame for the accident is significantly different than a recent driver in Colorado who received a speeding ticket while using FSD.
“I wasn’t driving,” the user of a Tesla vehicle pulled over by police in Parker, Colorado says in a video shared by Electrek.
The video shows the bodycam footage from an officer from a July 21, 2026 traffic citation.
The driver, who claims they were using FSD, was pulled over for going 64 miles per hour in a 45-mile-per-hour zone.
“You can blame the car all you want,” the police officer said. “The car doesn’t have a driver’s license.”
In the end, the Tesla user received a speeding ticket and was told to call a number to speak with a supervisor or to fight the ticket.
Image via Shutterstock
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