Tesla Drops Plans to Sell the Cybertruck in Australia and New Zealand

Tesla will not sell the Cybertruck in Australia or New Zealand. The company has told reservation holders in both countries that its plans to produce the vehicle for those markets have been discontinued, according to Engadget. Tesla notified holders of the cancellation by email.

Reservations in the two markets required a $150 refundable deposit, as Drive and News.com.au reported. Tesla will refund all deposits within 30 days after holders confirm their details by email.

Affected reservation holders are also being offered free access to Full Self-Driving (Supervised) for one year if they order a new Model 3 or Model Y. The offer is tied to a purchase of a different vehicle, not to the Cybertruck itself. Full Self-Driving (Supervised) is Tesla's driver-assistance software, which still requires a licensed human driver to supervise at all times.

The Cybertruck has been in customer hands for some time. Tesla began delivering the vehicle to early buyers in 2023. In 2024, Tesla CEO Elon Musk said that designing the Cybertruck for global sale would make it "worse," according to Drive. That remark was made well before the current cancellation and does not describe the reasons Tesla has given for it in this announcement.

For a buyer, the outcome is straightforward. A holder who paid a deposit gets it back. A holder who still wants a Tesla in either market has a different product to consider. The software offer keeps that customer in Tesla's ecosystem and gives a concrete reason to move to a model the company still sells there.

The broader context here is familiar to any manufacturer that takes reservations for a small batch of vehicles built for one region. A deposit is a commitment on both sides, and unwinding it costs as much in operations as in money: tracking holders, confirming details, returning funds, and answering the questions that follow. Tesla's 30-day refund window gives its back office a fixed deadline and gives holders a clear expectation.

In my view, the most useful thing to watch is not the refunds but how many holders accept the software offer and what share of them go on to order a Model 3 or Model Y. That is a measurable outcome, and Tesla is positioned to report it. For buyers in the two countries, the decision removes one vehicle from the list and leaves their deposit in their hands.