Tesla refunds 7 years of Cybertruck deposits after canceling Australian launch
The automaker has voided all pending orders for the electric pickup in the region, offering a switch to other models instead of a right-hand-drive truck.
By Juan Gonzalez ·
Electric vehicle enthusiasts in the Southern Hemisphere have been waiting for a specific pickup truck since 2019. Today, that wait has officially ended with a cancellation notice that sends a clear message about the vehicle's global future.
Tesla has formally discontinued its plans to produce and sell the Cybertruck in Australia and New Zealand. Reservation holders in these markets began receiving emails this morning confirming that their orders are now void. The automaker stated that after careful consideration, the project has been dropped, meaning the company will no longer build the vehicle for these specific regions.
The decision impacts customers who have been holding their spots for nearly seven years. Australians began reserving the truck in November 2019 by paying a deposit of A$150. At the time, the vehicle was marketed as a revolutionary electric pickup. However, Tesla has now determined that the logistics of bringing the truck to the region are no longer viable. The company is processing full refunds for all payments made, which should arrive within 30 days.
To soften the blow, Tesla is attempting to convert these lapsed reservations into sales of vehicles it already manufactures in right-hand drive configurations. Customers who cancel their Cybertruck order are offered a free one-year subscription to the company's Full Self-Driving software, supervised mode. This incentive is available if they order a new Model 3 or Model Y instead. This move highlights a strategic pivot, where the company is trying to retain customers by steering them toward its core passenger car lineup rather than its specialized truck.
The timing of this announcement follows closely on the heels of Tesla's Q3 2026 earnings report. For years, the Australian market was considered significant for the Cybertruck. Crowdsourced data from 2020 suggested that Australia was the third-largest market for reservations, trailing only the United States and Canada. By 2023, total global reservations were estimated at around 2 million units. Yet, despite this initial interest, the truck has remained elusive for local buyers.
The core technical issue preventing the launch has always been the drive configuration. The Cybertruck is built exclusively in left-hand drive. Australia, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, and Japan all require right-hand drive vehicles. Additionally, Australia has strict certification rules for vehicle design. Re-engineering a mass-produced vehicle for right-hand drive is an expensive undertaking. For a truck that is already facing demand challenges in North America, the cost of retooling the production line for two markets with a combined population of approximately 33 million people was difficult to justify.
Recent sales figures further support the decision to halt expansion. In Q3 2026, Tesla delivered 8,295 units categorized as Other Models, a segment that is now almost entirely composed of Cybertrucks since the Model S and Model X production ended. Estimates place Cybertruck sales at between 7,000 and 8,000 units for that quarter. This translates to an annual pace of roughly 30,000 units, which is significantly lower than the 250,000 units the production line was designed to handle. At this volume, the financial investment required for a right-hand-drive program would be hard for any finance team to approve.
This cancellation confirms that the Cybertruck is becoming a niche, primarily American product. While the truck has launched in left-hand-drive markets like South Korea, the UAE, and several Middle Eastern countries, it remains blocked in the European Union due to pedestrian safety concerns. The international strategy now appears focused on finding buyers for the existing left-hand-drive inventory rather than expanding the product's global footprint.
For the thousands of Australians and New Zealanders who held their deposits since 2019, the outcome is a full refund. While some may have already cancelled their pre-orders due to changes in price and range since 2023, the official closure of the program ends years of uncertainty. The era of the Cybertruck as a global right-hand-drive contender has effectively concluded.
Source: Electrek
