As we approach a month to the day since San Francisco 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan’s car accident, new details continue to arise.
On July 14, the 49ers coach said he took his eyes off the road to retrieve his dropped cell phone. The attention shift caused Shanahan to crash his vehicle, resulting in several injuries, including a concussion, broken nose, broken hand, and broken ribs. The other driver involved was not hospitalized.
Now, ahead of the 49ers’ preseason kickoff on Thursday night against the Tennessee Titans, Shanahan revealed more intriguing details.
New Details in Kyle Shanahan’s Crash Prompt Further Questions
During a press conference at San Francisco’s training camp, Shanahan was asked about the crash and provided more details on what occurred.
According to the 46-year-old, his Tesla was on autopilot when the incident took place.
Kyle Shanahan says he’s mad at himself for causing the accident that could be avoided and his Tesla was on autopilot when he crashed
Kyle’s not sure what happed, whether he accidentally turned it off or it malfunctioned pic.twitter.com/zHba2bChHv
— Coach Yac 🗣 (@Coach_Yac) August 8, 2026
“I’ve had autopilot for nine years, so I’m pretty comfortable with it, who knows what happened when I turned around?” Shanahan questioned. “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. It’s really helped me have perspective on that stuff.”
Gaining some clarity from the scary event, Shanahan took accountability for his mistakes and role in causing the crash.
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Once Shanahan revealed that his vehicle was on autopilot, plenty of reactions poured in from social media. Tony Farmer, the host of the “Last Men Standing Pod,” discussed the incident and argued “this is looking really bad.”
The story keeps changing. Kyle Shanahan’s accident narrative has changed and it’s suspicious.
The Palo Alto PD has a history of coverups and not being transparent.
This is looking really bad. pic.twitter.com/vYkRxoalTt
— Tony Farmer (@Tonysmarkettips) August 9, 2026
Farmer’s concerns stem from the new details in Shanahan’s account, including the car being on autopilot and that his phone fell into the backseat.
“The story changed a couple of hours ago,” said Farmer. “I’m gonna say it again, originally we were told the cell phone was between his seats. Originally, we were told nothing about autopilot.”
Some 49ers writers noted that there were on-the-record and off-the-record conversations with Shanahan, and Farmer acknowledged that autopilot may have come up in off-the-record chats.
“Maybe he talked to them off-the-record about autopilot,” said Farmer. “I suppose that’s possible, but why would that need to be off the record? If this was just an accident, Kyle, why would you need to go off the record to discuss the autopilot? If you didn’t go off the record to discuss the autopilot, why didn’t you mention the autopilot at all with the beat writers?”
Farmer argues that the story seems “weird,” before getting into another inconsistency.
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“Different aspects of this story have changed,” said Farmer. “If it was just one aspect, I’d be able to look past it. The location of the cell phone has changed. Between the seats. This wasn’t just one outlet; they all said between the seats because that’s what Kyle told them. Kyle’s story has changed. Now why would Kyle’s story change? … It could be that people were asking questions saying ‘the injuries don’t quite match up.'”
The NFL preseason is already underway after an intriguing Hall of Fame game matchup between the Carolina Panthers and Arizona Cardinals.
Now after Shanahan confirmed that he’ll coach the Niners in Week 1 of the preseason, can the 49ers and their coach look past the off-field issues and refocus on football for Thursday’s exhibition matchup?
