150 Dollars: The Price of a Cybertruck That Won't Exist in Australia
Tesla has scrapped its plans to deliver the electric pickup to Australia and New Zealand, refunding deposits held since 2019.
By Amina Howard ·
The wait is over for reservation holders in the Pacific. Tesla has officially canceled the Cybertruck for Australia and New Zealand, ending years of speculation regarding when the vehicle would arrive in those regions. The company confirmed the decision on Thursday, October 23, 2026, informing customers that the project has been terminated.
The cancellation involves the return of A$150 deposits. Australians began paying that amount in November 2019 to reserve the vehicle. That timeline means customers have been holding onto their reservations for nearly seven years, only to be told the product they secured will not be manufactured for their specific market.
The notification arrived via email to reservation holders. The message stated that after careful consideration, plans to produce the Cybertruck for Australia and New Zealand have been discontinued. Because of this decision, the company is unable to fulfill the reservation and the order will be cancelled.
Tesla is handling the financial wind-down by processing full refunds for any payments made within 30 days. To offer an alternative, the company is providing a free one-year subscription to FSD (Supervised) for customers who choose to order a Model 3 or Model Y instead. This strategy attempts to convert the voided pickup reservation into a sale of a vehicle the company currently builds in right-hand drive.
The history of the Australian reservation page explains why this news is significant. Tesla closed the reservation portal for Australia in May 2022, replacing it with a button to get updates. No refunds were issued at that time, and customers who had already reserved simply continued to wait for further instructions. In 2024, the company shipped a display vehicle for a tour of the country, but no delivery schedule followed.
The manufacturing logistics played a major role in the cancellation. The Cybertruck is currently produced only in left-hand drive configuration. Australia and New Zealand require right-hand drive vehicles, and Australia also mandates certification under specific design rules. Producing that specific variation would require Tesla to invest in engineering and tooling for a vehicle that is not currently in demand for those markets.
The production figures do not support the creation of a right-hand drive program. Tesla delivered 8,295 units in the Other Models category for the third quarter of 2026. Since Model S and Model X production has ended, that figure represents almost entirely Cybertruck sales, which translates to a rate of roughly 30,000 units per year. The production line was designed to handle 250,000 units annually.
Tesla's international deliveries have focused exclusively on left-hand drive markets. The company delivered units to South Korea late last year, followed by the United Arab Emirates in January. Configurators were also launched for Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Jordan, and Israel. The vehicle remains unavailable in the European Union, primarily due to pedestrian safety regulations.
The demand for the vehicle in the United States has also declined significantly. US sales dropped from approximately 39,000 units in 2024 to a fraction of that volume currently. Additionally, the vehicle that arrived in 2023 differs from the original specifications, offering less range than promised while carrying a higher price tag than the initial announcement.
