Tesla cancels the Cybertruck in Australia and New Zealand after seven years of reservations

Nearly seven years after Australians and New Zealanders started putting down deposits, Tesla has told them the Cybertruck is not coming. Reservation holders in both countries received an email this week saying the company has dropped its plans to build the stainless-steel pickup for their markets, and that their orders will be cancelled and refunded.

It is the clearest sign yet that the Cybertruck will stay a left-hand-drive vehicle, which also has implications for the UK, Ireland and Japan.

What Tesla told customers

According to copies of the email published by Not a Tesla App and Engadget, Tesla said that "after careful consideration" its plans to produce the Cybertruck for Australia and New Zealand "have been discontinued". The key points:

• Cancellation: every Cybertruck reservation in the two countries is being cancelled, because Tesla says it cannot fulfil them.
• Refund: customers get back everything they paid. A second email asks them to confirm their details, and Tesla says the money will follow within 30 days of that confirmation. In Australia the deposit was A$150, according to EV Central figures cited by EVXL.
• Consolation offer: customers who order a new Model 3 or Model Y get a free year of FSD (Supervised). At Tesla's Australian subscription price of A$149 a month, that is worth about A$1,788. Not a Tesla App reports the order has to be placed by the end of 2026.

Why the Cybertruck never made it

Tesla's email gives no reason, but the obvious obstacle is the steering wheel. Australia and New Zealand drive on the left, so cars there need right-hand drive. Every Cybertruck built at Giga Texas since deliveries began in late 2023 has been left-hand drive, and Engadget, citing reporting by Drive in Australia, says the production line was never set up for a right-hand-drive version.

Building one would mean re-engineering the dashboard, steering, pedal box and parts of the wiring for a market where the whole large-pickup segment is small. EV Central puts it at roughly 10,000 vehicles a year in Australia. That is a hard business case for a truck whose sales have been falling: Cox Automotive estimates, cited by EVXL, put 2025 US Cybertruck sales at around 20,000, roughly half the year before.

There may be regulatory hurdles too. Australia has its own design rules for vehicles, and the Cybertruck's sharp-edged steel body and weight have already kept it from getting approval in Europe, where pedestrian protection and crumple-zone rules are strict. Tesla has never offered the truck in the UK or the European Union.

A long wait that ends with nothing

Tesla opened Cybertruck reservations right after the November 2019 unveiling, and Australian buyers could sign up from late 2019. According to EVXL, tens of thousands of Australians reserved one between 2019 and 2021. For years, local buyers watched the US launch slip from 2021 to the end of 2023 and kept hoping a right-hand-drive version would follow.

The decision also fits a broader pattern of Tesla trimming low-volume products. Earlier in 2026 the company stopped taking orders for the Model S and Model X, and it has been putting more of its attention, factory space and capital into Cybercab, Optimus and AI hardware.

Why it matters beyond Australia

For readers in the UK, the message is hard to miss. If Tesla will not build a right-hand-drive Cybertruck for Australia, a market where big pickups like the Ford Ranger and Toyota HiLux are among the best-selling vehicles, a version for British roads looks even less likely. Enthusiasts in right-hand-drive countries are left with private imports of left-hand-drive trucks, which come with their own approval, insurance and practicality headaches.

The free FSD year is also telling. Tesla is using its driver-assistance software, which it increasingly sells as a subscription, as a way to keep disappointed reservation holders in the brand and steer them to the cars it can actually deliver.

What to watch next

• Whether Tesla formally confirms that no right-hand-drive Cybertruck is planned for any market, including the UK and Japan.
• How many Australian and New Zealand reservation holders take up the Model 3 or Model Y offer.
• Whether Tesla makes further changes to the Cybertruck line-up or production in Texas as US demand stays soft.