Tesla Ends Cybertruck Plans for Australia and New Zealand

Australians and New Zealanders who paid to reserve a Tesla Cybertruck are receiving notice that their orders are void. The company has officially discontinued plans to build the electric pickup for the two markets, ending a wait that has lasted nearly seven years for many customers.

The cancellation email, shared widely on social media and Reddit, confirms that Tesla can no longer fulfill the reservations. The automaker stated that after careful consideration, production for the region has been stopped. Customers are set to receive full refunds for all payments within 30 days. To soften the blow, Tesla is offering a free one-year subscription to its Full Self-Driving system for those who switch to a Model 3 or Model Y.

The timeline of this decision spans over half a decade. In November 2019, Australian consumers began paying A$150 deposits to reserve the truck. By 2022, Tesla quietly closed the reservation page, leaving existing deposits on hold without immediate refunds. In 2024, the company brought a unit to the region for a display tour, and CEO Elon Musk suggested certification for other markets might occur the following year. That year passed without a right-hand-drive model appearing.

The core obstacle remains the vehicle's design. The Cybertruck is manufactured exclusively in left-hand drive, which is incompatible with the driving standards in Australia, New Zealand, and other major markets like the UK and Japan. Additionally, Australia has strict certification requirements under its own design rules. For a truck facing demand challenges in North America, re-engineering for right-hand drive represented a significant financial hurdle.

Financial data supports the decision to pivot. In the third quarter of 2026, Tesla reported deliveries of just 8,295 units in its 'Other Models' category, which now consists almost entirely of Cybertrucks. This volume suggests an annual pace of roughly 30,000 units, far below the 250,000-unit production capacity of the dedicated line. Executives are unlikely to approve the cost of re-engineering the truck for two markets with a combined population of 33 million at that sales rate.

International expansion for the Cybertruck has thus far been limited to left-hand-drive regions. Deliveries began in South Korea and the UAE, with configurators opening in several Middle Eastern countries. The truck remains blocked in the European Union primarily due to pedestrian safety regulations. This latest cancellation reinforces the view that the Cybertruck is becoming a niche product, with Tesla focusing on selling existing left-hand-drive units to international buyers rather than adapting the vehicle for new regional standards.