> It seems incredible that this is the source code for the $999 product originally destined to be available this year.
It's not
It's not
http://newatlas.com/geohot-comma-ai-openpilot-open-source/46...
But in a nutshell:
The company was approached by agencies that had severe concerns over safety and if this would have the required regulations in place.
So the company folded and released this instead.