I agree, but I'd only handle it with tweezers and plant it in soil as soon as the seed coat cracks and maybe a hint of root starts showing. I agree that the longer the tap root at this stage the bigger the chance of damage.One big point to starting in soil is that it avoids handling the seed when placing it in wet paper towels and when transferring it into the next sized pot. Anything to avoid the possibility of breaking off the tap root 'cause that means it is all over.
Breaking the tap root is rare. My big thing is all the extra care and handling that is involved in handling the very small plant with a teeny tiny tap root. Once the tap root is several inches long with side roots transplanting is a breeze.
Only did an auto-flower once and that was an accident. There was a seed in with some photoperiod seeds and I did not find out till it started flowering. By then I had taken several clones and transplanted a time or two.