The danger for the autocrat is that, by yielding to reality, this is not how the yield is perceived. Instead, it is seen as yielding to another individual. It doesn't matter they are a subject matter expert, it simply means the expert is a potential alternative locus for power.
Can't have that.
No matter how substantial your contributions, you must be assassinated, prosecuted on fake charges, or a disgrace manufactured.
In this way, autocracy leads to weakness.
4/x