Seven-Year Wait Ends: Tesla Scraps Cybertruck Plans for Australia and New Zealand

Nearly seven years after the first deposits were accepted, Tesla has officially terminated its Cybertruck program for Australia and New Zealand. Reservation holders received notification emails today confirming that their orders are void, with refunds for the A$150 deposit scheduled for processing within 30 days. The decision marks the end of a long-running wait for a vehicle that Tesla initially promised would arrive in the region.

The core reason for the cancellation is the vehicle's design. The Cybertruck is currently manufactured exclusively in left-hand drive, whereas Australia, New Zealand, the UK, and Japan require right-hand drive configurations. Additionally, Australia mandates certification under its own specific design rules. For a truck that is already facing demand challenges in North America, the cost of re-engineering and certifying the vehicle for these two markets no longer justifies the investment.

This announcement follows closely on the heels of Tesla’s Q3 2026 earnings report. The data reveals a significant drop in production volumes for the model. Tesla delivered just 8,295 units categorized as “Other Models” in the third quarter, a segment that now consists almost entirely of Cybertrucks since the Model S and Model X lines were discontinued. Analysts estimate Cybertruck sales at between 7,000 and 8,000 units for the quarter, equating to an annual pace of roughly 30,000 units. This is far below the 250,000-unit annual capacity of the dedicated production line, making a specialized right-hand-drive program financially difficult to sustain.

The timeline of the delay has been marked by uncertainty. Australians began reserving the truck in November 2019. While Tesla quietly closed the Australian reservation page in May 2022, it did not immediately refund customers, leaving many to wait without clear communication. In 2024, CEO Elon Musk told shareholders that the company might certify the truck for other markets “sometime next year,” but that deadline passed without a right-hand-drive version materializing.

To mitigate the loss of potential customers, Tesla is offering reservation holders a free one-year subscription to its FSD (Supervised) feature if they purchase a new Model 3 or Model Y. This strategy aims to convert the dead Cybertruck reservation into a sale of a vehicle that is already built in right-hand drive. The move suggests that the Cybertruck is becoming a niche, primarily American product, with international expansion limited to finding buyers for existing left-hand-drive units in markets like South Korea, the UAE, and parts of the Middle East.

The cancellation also highlights the shifting landscape of the electric pickup market. The truck, which was originally reserved at a base price of $39,900, has seen its US sales decline from approximately 39,000 units in 2024 to a fraction of that figure today. For Australian and New Zealand consumers, the prospect of importing a more expensive, left-hand-drive vehicle with less range than initially promised made the purchase less attractive, a factor that likely accelerated the company's decision to discontinue local plans.