Good news for anyone who gave Tesla $150 as the deposit on a Cybertruck in 2019.
You’ll be getting your money back after seven years, with Elon Musk’s EV company finally confirming the bleeding obvious, canning plans to bring a right-hand-drive version to Australia.
It’s been four years since Tesla put a hold on taking more money from Aussies for Cybertrucks. But in the scheme of things for anyone waiting for the Roadster – unveiled in 2017 for a promised 2020 delivery – the about-face is quite rapid by comparison.
In an email sent to customers today, reported by news.com.au, Tesla said: “After careful consideration, plans to produce Cybertruck for Australia and New Zealand have been discontinued.”
Deposits, believed to be in the thousands, will refunded in 30 days. As a “soz, my bad”, Tesla is offering a complimentary 12-month Full Self-Driving (Supervised) subscription as compensation for anyone who buys a Model 3 or Model Y instead.
Interestingly, Australians returned to the brand in 2026, as Chinese EV makers surpassed and now dominate the local landscape. Tesla deliveries rebounded 84.1% year-on-year to 41,705 in the first nine months of 2026. The Model Y drove the recovery, up 108.4% to 35,930 deliveries, while Model 3 sales rose 6.6% to 5,775, according to Electric Vehicle Council figures.
Yet BYD alone outsold Tesla by 7.1%, and the combined sales total for all Chinese-owned brands, which includes Polestar and Volvo, is more than double Tesla’s at 107,050 for the first nine months of the year.
Meanwhile, the greatest car unleashed on the Australian public since the Leyland P76 – and the Cybertruck looks a bit like its Brylcreemed cousin – is not to be, despite the manufacturer dragging a couple of the out here in 2024 for a bit of show and tell.
Not that its US sales are booming. Cox Automotive’s Kelley Blue Book estimates show 4,323 Cybertrucks sold in the September quarter, down 19.7% on a year ago’s already unimpressive figures. Sales for the first nine months of 2026 totalled 11,586, down 28%.
US owners have also faced repeated safety recalls. Who can forget 2024’s Cybertruck recall because accelerator pedal pads would come loose and trap the pedal. Another recall addressed drive inverters that could cause a sudden loss of propulsion.
In March 2025, 46,096 vehicles were recalled over stainless steel exterior trim that could detach while driving, which sounds like something from the Cannonball Run. Problems continued this year, including 173 Cybertrucks fitted with 18-inch steel wheels because cracks in brake rotors could allow wheel studs to separate from their hubs.
If you missed out and are sad, the good news is the Roadster is coming in 2028, only eight years late, which coincidentally, is the number of times Musk has floated production or delivery timetables since November 2017.
A few weeks ago, Musk’s reannouncement of the Roadster involved compressed-gas thrusters and airborne stunts, with the single-seat “Rocket” version that had the media and Muskolyte fanboys hailing the era of the flying car.
After almost nine years, getting one into a customer’s driveway would be the more impressive trick.
