Deposits Refunded: Tesla Dumps Cybertruck in Right-Hand Drive Markets

Tesla has formally cancelled its plans to sell the Cybertruck in Australia and New Zealand. On October 23, the company emailed reservation holders that their orders are void and their deposits will be refunded.

Australians began reserving the electric pickup in November 2019 with a 150 Australian dollar deposit. The cancellation email stated that Tesla is unable to fulfill the reservation. The company promised a full refund of all payments within 30 days. Customers who choose to order a new Model 3 or Model Y instead will receive a one-year subscription to Full Self-Driving (Supervised).

The decision ends a wait of nearly seven years. In 2020, crowdsourced data suggested Australia held about 3% of all Cybertruck reservations, ranking third behind the United States and Canada. By 2023, tracking estimates placed total reservations at roughly 2 million. Tesla quietly closed the Australian reservation page in May 2022, replacing it with a button to receive updates.

Elon Musk told shareholders in 2024 that the company might certify the truck for other markets the following year. Tesla shipped a single Cybertruck to Australia for a display tour that year. No right-hand drive version followed. The vehicle is built only in left-hand drive, while Australia, New Zealand, the UK, and Japan require right-hand drive configurations. Australian regulations also require specific design certification, adding cost for a vehicle with softening demand in North America.

Tesla has limited its international rollout to left-hand-drive countries. Deliveries began in South Korea in late 2025 and in the UAE in January 2026. Configurator options later appeared in Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Jordan, and Israel. The truck remains blocked in the European Union due to pedestrian safety concerns.

Sales figures in the United States suggest a limited global market. Tesla delivered 8,295 units in the third quarter of 2026 under the "Other Models" category, which now consists almost entirely of Cybertrucks. Analysts estimate annual sales at roughly 30,000 units, far below the production line capacity of 250,000 per year. Australia and New Zealand together have a population of about 33 million.

US sales of the Cybertruck have fallen sharply from approximately 39,000 units in 2024. Many Australian reservation holders likely cancelled their orders earlier, as the 2023 model was more expensive and had less range than initially promised. Tesla now treats the Cybertruck as a niche product, focusing international expansion on existing left-hand-drive markets.