Plus their target date for initial Model 3 shipments is barely more than a year away. The hardware design is probably almost finalized right now. The software end needs to be production-worthy by about this time next year. They aren't even willing to remove the "beta" label from the Model S's autosteer functionality. I would not be surprised if the Model 3 ships with much more advanced autonomous driving features, but I can't imagine it shipping without a steering wheel.

Tesla is pushing hard to get the Model 3 out the door on time. They may not succeed, but they're going to do everything they can to try. Requiring the Model 3 to incorporate full autonomy from day one would be an enormous and unnecessary risk to their ship date.