49ers’ Shanahan crashed his Tesla on Autopilot reaching for his phone

This is a car safety story, not a home energy topic, but here's what happened: 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan crashed his Tesla Model S in July while using Autopilot, Tesla's driver-assistance system that steers, brakes, and speeds up on its own but still requires the driver to stay alert and ready to take over at any moment. Shanahan reached for a phone that had slipped between his seat and console, looked away for about two seconds, drifted into oncoming traffic, and hit another car. He suffered a concussion, broken nose, broken ribs, a broken hand, and cuts requiring stitches. The other driver was not seriously hurt.

Shanahan has publicly taken responsibility, saying the crash was his fault regardless of whether the car was on Autopilot. He also noted he's used Autopilot for nine years and felt "pretty comfortable" with it, which is part of why he glanced away.

For homeowners who also drive an EV, the takeaway is less about this specific crash and more about how these systems work: they handle routine driving well enough that people relax their attention, but they're not built to fully replace it. If you use a partially automated driving system in your own car, the same tradeoff applies no matter how many years of trouble-free use you've had with it.