Tesla Is Cancelling the Cybertruck for Australia and New Zealand After Seven Years of Reservations
As compensation, Tesla is offering cancelled reservation holders a free year of Full Self-Driving Supervised on a new order.
Summary
Tesla has officially canceled plans to release its brutalist pickup in the Australian and New Zealand markets
Customers who placed deposits seven years ago will receive full refunds and a conditional Full Self-Driving perk
The localized cancellation underscores massive global regulatory blocks stemming from the vehicle's right-hand drive absence and sharp-edged design
Seven years after placing their bets on Elon Musk’s dystopian fever dream, reservation holders Down Under are officially being cut off. Tesla has sent emails confirming that production plans for the Tesla Cybertruck in Australia and New Zealand have been completely discontinued. The cancellation notices, first spotted by Electrek, mark the definitive end of the road for the geometric pickup in the Oceania market. Customers who reserved the vehicle seven years ago will receive a full refund of their initial deposits of roughly $105 USD, or $150 AUD, within 30 days of confirming their details via email. As a consolation prize for the long wait, the automaker is offering affected buyers free year-long access to Full Self-Driving (Supervised), provided they pivot and place a new order for a Model 3 or Model Y.
The cancellation in Australia and New Zealand stems from fundamental manufacturing and compliance barriers. According to 2023 reports from Drive Australia sources, Tesla’s Texas factory was simply never configured to manufacture the Tesla Cybertruck in a right-hand drive layout. That engineering omission prevents international expansion, as the lack of a right-hand drive version means the truck cannot be legally driven on the streets of Australia, New Zealand, the UK, Japan and Ireland.
This regional cancellation underscores a larger global roadblock for the brand, proving the Tesla Cybertruck is structurally incompatible with international road rules. Beyond steering wheel placement, the vehicle faces heavy regulatory hurdles worldwide and remains blocked from European approval due to strict lighting and weight classifications. The US Army Customs Agency even issued a notification explicitly stating that the US Army could not import the vehicles into Europe. According to the agency, the vehicle’s sharp-edged, stiff stainless-steel body violates EU safety standards designed to protect vulnerable road users because it completely lacks essential design features like pedestrian-friendly crumple zones.
As a result of these extreme design choices, Tesla has not officially released the model in the UK or the European Union. The vehicle currently touches European pavement only through single-vehicle approvals, forcing motivated buyers to legally push imports through by making extensive aftermarket modifications. For now, the brand’s most radical silhouette remains fundamentally trapped behind restrictive international borders.
