Tesla Scraps Cybertruck for Australian and New Zealand Markets

Tesla has officially ended its plans to sell the Cybertruck in Australia and New Zealand, a decision that concludes a nearly seven year wait for customers who reserved the vehicle. The company notified reservation holders today that their orders are cancelled and that their deposits will be returned in full.

The primary driver behind this withdrawal is the logistical and financial challenge of producing the truck for right-hand-drive markets. The Cybertruck is currently manufactured only in left-hand drive, a configuration required for North America and several other international destinations. Adapting the vehicle for Australia, New Zealand, and other regions would require a significant engineering overhaul and local certification. With demand for the model slowing in its home market, Tesla determined that the investment was no longer justifiable for two markets that together have a combined population of approximately 33 million people.

Customers in the affected regions began placing reservations in November 2019, paying a deposit of 150 Australian dollars. Tesla quietly closed the reservation page in May 2022 but did not immediately refund those who had already paid, leaving them to wait for further updates. The situation remained in limbo through 2024, when the company brought a vehicle to Australia for a display tour and executives suggested certification might occur the following year. That timeline passed without a right-hand-drive version being produced.

The cancellation comes just one day after Tesla reported its third quarter 2026 earnings. The results highlight the current scale of the Cybertruck’s production. The company delivered just 8,295 units in the 'Other Models' category last quarter, a segment that now consists almost entirely of Cybertrucks since the Model S and Model X lines ended. This output represents a pace of roughly 30,000 units per year, well below the annual capacity of 250,000 units for which the production line was designed.

In an effort to retain customer relationships, Tesla is offering a consolation prize to affected reservation holders. Those who purchase a new Model 3 or Model Y will receive a free one year subscription to Full Self-Driving (Supervised). Refunds for the original deposits are expected to be processed within 30 days of the notification.

Open questions remain regarding the future of the Cybertruck in other right-hand-drive markets, such as the United Kingdom and Japan. The truck is also currently blocked from entering the European Union primarily due to pedestrian safety regulations. This latest move solidifies the vehicle's status as a niche product focused largely on the United States and left-hand-drive international markets.

Tesla’s international expansion strategy for the Cybertruck has so far been limited to left-hand-drive countries. Deliveries began in South Korea and the United Arab Emirates earlier this year, with configurators launched in Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Jordan, and Israel. The decision to withdraw from Australia and New Zealand underscores the company's focus on maximizing returns from its existing production capabilities rather than expanding into more complex regulatory environments.