Tesla Halts Cybertruck Deliveries for Australia and New Zealand
The automaker is voiding reservations and refunding deposits collected from buyers in the region since late 2019.
By Mei Lin ·
Tesla has confirmed it will not produce the Cybertruck for the Australian and New Zealand markets, abruptly ending an availability promise that stretched back to 2019. Emails were dispatched to customers on October 23, 2026, informing them that their orders are no longer valid.
The correspondence states that 'plans to produce Cybertruck for Australia and New Zealand have been discontinued,' resulting in the immediate cancellation of all associated reservations. To address the reversal, the company has pledged to return any deposits—collected at A$150 for Australians starting in November 2019—within a 30-day window. Buyers looking to pivot to a vehicle that is actually available are being offered a complimentary one-year subscription to FSD (Supervised) if they order a Model 3 or Model Y.
For years, the company signaled that a launch was merely a matter of time. Reservation pages for the region were quietly shuttered in May 2022, though funds were not returned to customers at that time. Subsequent statements from leadership in 2024 suggested certification for other markets might occur 'sometime next year,' yet no right-hand-drive variant was ever produced.
The financial and logistical hurdles of creating a right-hand-drive version appear to be the primary obstacle. The vehicle is currently manufactured exclusively in left-hand-drive configuration, while Australia, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, and Japan require the opposite. For Australia specifically, the truck must also meet specific national design rules, adding further cost to a program that is already struggling to scale.
Current sales figures suggest the company lacks the volume to justify such an investment. In the third quarter of 2026, Tesla delivered only 8,295 units in the 'Other Models' category, which now primarily consists of Cybertruck sales following the cessation of Model S and Model X production. This equates to an estimated annual pace of roughly 30,000 units, a fraction of the 250,000-unit annual capacity the production line was designed to achieve.
The decision to cancel orders has sparked significant criticism, particularly regarding the timeline. While refunds are now being issued, the company accepted deposits for a vehicle intended to start at a much lower price point in 2019, only to refuse delivery years later. The Cybertruck delivered in 2023 differs substantially from the original design, featuring a higher price and reduced range compared to initial specifications.
Furthermore, the vehicle's market performance has declined sharply. US sales dropped from approximately 39,000 units in 2024 to a fraction of that figure currently. With demand contracting in North America and the vehicle blocked in the European Union due to pedestrian safety concerns, the company is limiting its international distribution to left-hand-drive markets such as South Korea, the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Jordan, and Israel.
As a result of these factors, the Cybertruck remains a niche product primarily sold in North America. The company's refusal to invest in re-engineering the truck for a combined population of 33 million people in Australia and New Zealand confirms that no further international expansion is planned for the model.
Source: Electrek
