Full Breakdown
Tesla Cancels Cybertruck Launch Plans for Australia and New Zealand
By Drooid · · How we work
Core Event
Tesla emailed reservation holders in Australia and New Zealand to announce that the Cybertruck will not be produced for either market. The notice says the plans are “discontinued,” deposits will be fully refunded within 30 days, and customers may receive a complimentary one-year Full Self-Driving (Supervised) subscription if they purchase a new Model 3 or Model Y before the end of 2026.
Background & Context
Reservations began in November 2019 with a refundable A$150 (? $150 USD) deposit. Tesla closed the Australian reservation page in May 2022 and never reopened it. A 2024 promotional tour brought a single left-hand-drive Cybertruck to Australian showrooms, but Australia, New Zealand, the United Kingdom and Japan require right-hand-drive versions and separate certification, meaning substantial re-engineering costs.
Data & Statistics
- Reservation share: Crowdsourced tracking placed Australia and New Zealand third behind the United States and Canada, about 3 % of global Cybertruck reservations.
- U.S. sales trend: Carexpert reported U.S. Cybertruck deliveries peaked at ~38,965 units in 2024, fell to 20,237 in 2025, and reached 11,586 between January and September 2026—a 28 % year-on-year decline.
- Production capacity vs. actual sales: Electrek estimated quarterly Cybertruck sales at 7,000–8,000 units, far below the 250,000-unit annual line capacity for which the plant was built.
Official Statements & Responses
Tesla’s email explained that the decision follows “careful consideration” of market size and the engineering effort required for RHD certification. The company promised full refunds and the optional FSD (Supervised) subscription as a goodwill gesture. No further comment was provided by Tesla Australia.
At the 2024 shareholder meeting, Musk noted that certification for other markets might be possible “sometime next year,” but expanding to meet a “superset of international requirements” would compromise the product.
Verbatim Quotes
- “After careful consideration, plans to produce Cybertruck for Australia and New Zealand have been discontinued,” — Tesla.com
- “We have more orders of the first Cybertrucks than we could possibly fulfil for three years after the start of production,” — Elon Musk
Why It Matters / Impact
The cancellation highlights the difficulty of adapting a vehicle built for left-hand-drive markets to right-hand-drive jurisdictions. With U.S. sales declining and the Cybertruck operating at a fraction of its intended volume, the financial case for costly re-engineering appears weak. The free FSD (Supervised) year aims to keep reservation holders within Tesla’s existing lineup, offsetting lost revenue from the cancelled RHD program.
What's Next
Reservation holders must place an order for a Model 3 or Model Y before the end of 2026 to claim the FSD (Supervised) subscription. Refunds will be processed within 30 days of customers confirming their details. Tesla has removed the Cybertruck from its Australian website, and no further announcements about RHD development have been made.