Tesla scraps Cybertruck plans for Australia and New Zealand after seven-year wait

Tesla formally discontinued its Cybertruck plans for Australia and New Zealand on 23 October, voiding roughly two million reservations held by customers in those markets.

Reservation holders began receiving emails that same day stating the company could no longer fulfil their orders. Tesla wrote that it had made the decision after careful consideration and would process full refunds within 30 days. The email also informed customers that ordering a new Model 3 or Model Y would include a one-year subscription to Full Self-Driving Supervised.

The cancellation resolves a logistical impasse that persisted for nearly seven years. The Cybertruck is manufactured exclusively in left-hand drive, while Australia, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, and Japan require right-hand drive vehicles. Australia also requires specific design certification, a costly process for a vehicle facing soft demand in North America.

Tesla initially opened reservations in Australia in November 2019 with a A$150 deposit. A 2020 survey estimated Australian reservations comprised about 3% of the global total. By 2023, tracking data indicated total reservations reached two million units. Despite this volume, Tesla quietly removed the Australian reservation page in May 2022 without issuing refunds at that time. In 2024, Elon Musk told shareholders the company might certify the truck for other markets the following year, but no right-hand drive version followed.

The decision arrives after Tesla reported third-quarter 2026 earnings. The company delivered 8,295 units of its "Other Models" category in that period, a figure Electrek estimates represents almost entirely Cybertruck sales. This annual rate of roughly 30,000 units stands in contrast to a production line capacity of 250,000 units per year.

International expansion has remained limited to left-hand drive regions. Deliveries started in South Korea in late 2025 and the UAE in January 2026, with configurators later appearing in Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Jordan, and Israel. The truck remains blocked in the European Union primarily due to pedestrian safety concerns.

The next step for the 33 million residents of Australia and New Zealand is a refund or a switch to an existing right-hand drive model. Tesla has not announced further international expansion plans for the Cybertruck beyond current left-hand drive markets.