Tesla has dropped plans to build the Cybertruck for Australia and New Zealand and emailed reservation holders that their orders are canceled. Payments will be refunded within 30 days, and anyone who orders a new Model 3 or Model Y instead gets a free one-year subscription to FSD (Supervised), Tesla’s driver-assistance package. Reservations opened in November 2019, seven years ago.
What did Tesla tell customers?
According to Electrek, the email says that “after careful consideration, plans to produce Cybertruck for Australia and New Zealand have been discontinued.” It landed the day after Tesla reported its third-quarter 2026 results.
Tesla promised to refund every payment made. In Australia the deposit was A$150. Customers who switch to a new Model 3 or Model Y get the free year of FSD (Supervised), per Electrek and InsideEVs. As far as the reports show, Tesla offered no public explanation beyond the notice.
Why isn’t the truck coming?
There is no official reason, but both outlets point to the same cluster of causes. The first is technical: the Cybertruck is built only with the steering wheel on the left. Australia, New Zealand, the UK and Japan require right-hand drive, and Australia also demands its own design certification. Reworking a design this unusual is expensive.
The second is demand. US sales fell from about 39,000 in 2024 to a fraction of that today, Electrek says. Tesla’s “other models” line delivered 8,295 vehicles in Q3 2026, nearly all Cybertrucks, and Electrek estimates 7,000 to 8,000 trucks in the quarter, a pace of roughly 30,000 a year. The factory line was sized for 250,000. With volume like that at home, spending on two markets that together have about 33 million people is a hard case to make.
InsideEVs adds its author’s view: the price ended up far above the 2019 promise, the truck suffered high-profile quality problems, and both countries are buying more Chinese EVs. That is the writers’ analysis, not a Tesla statement.
A long trail of promises
Tesla unveiled the truck in November 2019 with a starting price of $39,900. The production version, sold since 2023, costs more and has less range than promised, according to Electrek. In May 2022 Tesla closed the Australian reservation page and swapped in a “Get updates” button, without refunding anyone. In 2024 it showed a truck in Australia, and Elon Musk told shareholders certification for other markets might come “sometime next year.” It did not.
Outside the US, deliveries began in South Korea in late 2025 and in the United Arab Emirates in January 2026. Configurators are live in Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Jordan and Israel. In the European Union, sales are blocked mainly by pedestrian-safety rules.
What does it say about Tesla?
Electrek argues the Cybertruck is now a niche, mostly American product that Tesla is unlikely to invest in further. InsideEVs notes that with the Model S and Model X discontinued, Tesla has few high-volume consumer models, and it calls the Cybertruck and Roadster closer to showcase projects than sales drivers. In that author’s reading, growth depends on the Model Y L, the Semi and stronger Model 3 and Model Y sales, which are slipping behind rivals on range, charging and features. Tesla’s own bet seems to be on autonomous driving and the Cybercab.
That is opinion, but it fits what we can see: a truck pitched as the face of the brand is now vanishing from whole markets. If you are following the company, the lesson is to watch less of what is promised on stage and more of what has a price and a delivery date where you live.
For more on where Tesla stands, see our report on the SpaceX and Tesla merger committees and the numbers behind US EV sales in Q3 2026.
Does this affect US buyers?
Not directly. The truck stays on sale in the United States, and nothing in the reports suggests a recall or a change to US orders. The practical effect is on expectations: a vehicle that needs a major redesign for each market can be announced for a region and still never arrive. Before you put money down on any EV that is not yet in your country, check whether the maker has published a price, a homologation status and a delivery date. A deposit is a place in line, not a promise.
