---
title: "Hacker George Hotz Cans His Plug-And-Play Self-Driving Car System After “Threats” From Feds"
description: "The Comma One has died before it really got off the ground."
date: "2016-10-28"
modified: "2016-10-28"
authors:
  - name: "Aaron Brown"
    job_title: "Staff Editor"
    link: "https://www.thedrive.com/authors/aaron-brown"
url: "https://www.thedrive.com/news/5736/hacker-george-hotz-cans-his-plug-and-play-self-driving-car-system-after-threats-from-feds"
categories:
  - "Car Tech"
  - "News"
  - "Self-Driving Tech"
tags:
  - "Autonomous Cars"
  - "comma"
  - "George Hotz"
---

# Hacker George Hotz Cans His Plug-And-Play Self-Driving Car System After “Threats” From Feds

![](<https://www.thedrive.com/wp-content/uploads/images-by-url-td/content/archive-images/george_hotz_done_hero.jpg>)
*\<em\>www.thedrive.com</em>*

Hacker George Hotz announced on his company's Twitter account Friday morning that he would be ending development on his claimed [$999 self-driving device from Comma.AI](<https://twitter.com/comma_ai/status/791958356042719234?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw>) following a notice from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration which included ["threats."](<https://twitter.com/comma_ai/status/791958356042719234?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw>)

Hotz claimed the 10-page letter he received from the NHTSA was the first time the agency had reached out to his company. The letter requested the company answer 15 questions about the safety of the device for public use. If Comma.AI refused to comply, the company would be fined up to $21,000 a day.

Emboldened in the notice from the NHTSA was text that read, "We are concerned that your product would put the safety of your customers and other road users at risk. We strongly encourage you to delay selling or deploying your product on the public roadways unless and until you can ensure it is safe."

https://twitter.com/_/status/791958356042719234

https://twitter.com/_/status/791958385348321284

https://twitter.com/_/status/791958413345382400

Comma.AI's autonomous car product was a package that included a camera and front-facing radar sensorsthat could be retrofitted on a handful of different vehicles. The product was first shown off to *Bloomberg* in December 2015, which is when Hotz said it would be production-ready by the end of 2016. [As *Business Insider no*tes](<https://www.businessinsider.com/george-hotz-comma-ai-shuts-down-driverless-car-project-2016-10>), the *Bloomberg* story included talks between Hotz and Tesla CEO Elon Musk that showed Musk offering him ["multimillion-dollar bonus"](<https://www.bloomberg.com/features/2015-george-hotz-self-driving-car/>) if Hotz were to develop his product as an in-house replacement for [Mobileye's product](<https://www.thedrive.com/?s=Mobileye>).

Hotz and his hacking abilities first came to light in 2007 when he became known at age 17 as the first person to hack the iPhone.

You can see the [full NHTSA letter here](<https://www.scribd.com/document/329218929/2016-10-27-Special-Order-Directed-to-Comma-ai>).

## Author
Aaron was previously a contributing writer with Jalopnik and has also written for Business Insider covering cars. When he's not in the office writing the news, you'll probably find him thrashing a beater car around a RallyCross.

### Author social links  
[Instagram](<https://instagram.com/aaronmaxb>)  
[Twitter](<https://twitter.com/aaronmaxb>)