Tesla refunds deposits to 2 million Australian and New Zealand buyers

Tesla formally cancelled Cybertruck orders for Australia and New Zealand on October 23, 2026, and initiated refunds for reservation holders. Customers received emails confirming that their deposits are being returned within 30 days, ending a wait of nearly seven years.

The cancellation affects approximately 2 million reservation holders across the two countries. According to the notification sent to buyers, Tesla discontinued plans to produce the pickup for the region because it is unable to fulfill the reservations. The company stated it will refund all payments made by customers.

Tesla introduced a promotional offer to convert these dead reservations into new sales. Customers who order a Model 3 or Model Y will receive a free one-year subscription to Full Self-Driving (Supervised). This strategy targets buyers who may still want a Tesla but are willing to switch to a model that Tesla already produces in right-hand drive.

The central technical obstacle is the vehicle's steering configuration. The Cybertruck is manufactured exclusively with left-hand drive, while Australia and New Zealand require right-hand-drive vehicles for road certification. Tesla has not built a right-hand-drive version of the truck despite earlier suggestions from CEO Elon Musk that certification for other markets might occur in 2025.

Tesla quietly closed the Australian reservation page in May 2022, replacing the order option with a button for updates. The company had previously shipped a Cybertruck to Australia in 2024 for a display tour. The decision to cancel comes after Tesla reported its third-quarter 2026 earnings.

Market data suggests the Cybertruck has become a niche product. In the third quarter of 2026, Tesla delivered 8,295 units categorized as 'Other Models,' a group now dominated by the Cybertruck since production of the Model S and Model X ended. Electrek estimates quarterly sales at 7,000 to 8,000 units, far below the production line's annual capacity of 250,000.

Tesla's international rollout has so far been limited to left-hand-drive countries, including South Korea, the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Jordan, and Israel. The truck remains unavailable in the European Union due to pedestrian safety concerns. With the cancellation, Tesla has effectively limited its global expansion strategy to finding buyers for existing left-hand-drive trucks.