Tesla Scraps Cybertruck Plans for Australia and New Zealand, Refunding Seven-Year Deposits

For thousands of vehicle buyers in Australia and New Zealand, a long wait has officially ended. Tesla is canceling all Cybertruck reservations in the region, meaning customers will receive full refunds for deposits held since 2019. The automaker confirmed the decision via email today, stating that production plans for the electric pickup in these two markets have been discontinued. This move resolves a seven-year period of uncertainty for those who pre-ordered the vehicle, which was originally expected to arrive much earlier.

The cancellation notice informs reservation holders that their orders are void and that refunds will be processed within 30 days. To sweeten the deal, Tesla is offering a free one-year subscription to Full Self-Driving (Supervised) for anyone who switches their order to a Model 3 or Model Y. This strategy appears designed to convert dead reservations into sales of vehicles that Tesla actually manufactures in right-hand-drive configurations. The emails went out just one day after Tesla reported its Q3 2026 earnings, signaling a strategic pivot away from the truck for these specific markets.

Australian customers began paying A$150 deposits in November 2019, making this the longest wait for a cancelled Tesla model in that region. A crowdsourced survey from 2020 placed Australia third globally in reservations, behind the US and Canada. Although Tesla never confirmed exact regional numbers, total global reservations reached approximately 2 million by 2023. In May 2022, the company quietly closed the Australian reservation page without refunding customers, leaving them to wait while the CEO repeatedly hinted at certification for "next year."

The core obstacle has always been the truck’s left-hand-drive design. Australia and New Zealand require right-hand-drive vehicles, which necessitates significant re-engineering and certification under local design rules. This is a substantial financial burden for a vehicle facing softer demand in North America. Tesla has only launched the Cybertruck in left-hand-drive markets, including South Korea, the UAE, and several Middle Eastern nations, while it remains blocked in the EU over pedestrian safety concerns.

Financial data suggests the investment for a right-hand-drive program no longer justifies the return. In Q3 2026, Tesla delivered just 8,295 units in the "Other Models" category, which is now predominantly Cybertruck. Estimates place Cybertruck sales at 7,000 to 8,000 units last quarter, a pace of roughly 30,000 annually. This is far below the production line’s capacity of 250,000 units per year. For two markets with a combined population of about 33 million, the volume is insufficient to cover the costs of adaptation.

This decision confirms the Cybertruck’s status as a niche, primarily American product. While some reservation holders may have already canceled their orders due to price increases and reduced range promises, the official cancellation brings closure to a process that lasted nearly seven years. Tesla’s international expansion for the truck will now focus solely on finding buyers for existing left-hand-drive inventory.