It was always going to be a long-term thing, if it were even possible. You can't make a compiler that can compile Python into efficient machine code in just a year (which was how long Mojo had been in development when it was announced).

The messaging was changed because people got sold too hard on that, and kept trying Mojo with the expectation that it could compile existing Python code when it couldn't. What Modular did was change the messaging to reflect what Mojo is today, and provide a roadmap[1] of what they hope it'll turn into in the future. As it evolves, the messaging will evolve with it to continue reflecting current capabilities.

1. https://mojolang.org/docs/roadmap/