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

Tesla has officially terminated its plan to sell the Cybertruck in Australia and New Zealand, ending a seven-year period of uncertainty for local reservation holders. The electric vehicle maker sent emails to customers today informing them that their orders have been canceled and that their deposits will be returned. This move concludes a long-standing saga that began in November 2019, when Australians began paying A$150 to secure a spot in the production queue for the stainless steel pickup.

In a brief message to affected customers, Tesla stated that after careful consideration, plans to produce the truck for the region have been discontinued. The company confirmed that it is unable to fulfill the reservations and will process full refunds for all payments made within 30 days. To retain the customer base, Tesla is offering a free one-year subscription to its Full Self-Driving (Supervised) software for anyone who places an order for a new Model 3 or Model Y.

This decision marks a strategic pivot for Tesla, which is attempting to convert lapsed pickup reservations into sales of its more established right-hand-drive sedans and SUVs. The announcement arrived just one day after the company reported its third-quarter financial results for 2026, underscoring the timing of the corporate strategy shift.

Australia was once considered a significant potential market for the vehicle. A 2020 crowdsourced survey indicated that the country held approximately 3% of all global Cybertruck reservations, placing it third behind the United States and Canada. Although Tesla never officially confirmed these regional figures, industry tracking suggested total global reservations reached around two million units by 2023. Despite this initial interest, Tesla quietly removed the Australian reservation page in May 2022, replacing it with a placeholder for updates without immediately issuing refunds.

The core obstacle to bringing the truck to the region has been its left-hand-drive design. Australia, New Zealand, and other key markets like the UK and Japan require right-hand-drive vehicles, and Australia additionally mandates specific local design certifications. Re-engineering the vehicle for these requirements would have been a substantial investment for a model that is currently facing softening demand in its home market.

Tesla’s international expansion for the Cybertruck has been limited to left-hand-drive regions. Deliveries began in South Korea in late 2025 and the United Arab Emirates in January 2026, with configurators subsequently opening in Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Jordan, and Israel. The vehicle remains blocked from the European Union primarily due to pedestrian safety concerns.

Financial data suggests the volumes do not justify a dedicated right-hand-drive production line. In the third quarter of 2026, Tesla delivered 8,295 units categorized as 'Other Models,' a segment that now consists almost entirely of Cybertrucks since production of the Model S and Model X ceased. Analysts estimate this represents an annualized pace of roughly 30,000 units, far below the 250,000-unit capacity of the production line. For a combined population of approximately 33 million in Australia and New Zealand, this volume likely does not support the cost of re-engineering.

The cancellation confirms that the Cybertruck is becoming a niche product primarily targeted at the North American market. While some reservation holders may have already canceled their pre-orders due to changes in pricing and range since 2023, the official discontinuation ends the ambiguity for the remaining thousands of customers who have waited since 2019.