Tesla voids 2 million Cybertruck orders after 7 year wait

Tesla has voided approximately two million Cybertruck reservations in Australia and New Zealand, ending a nearly seven-year wait for the electric pickup. Customers began receiving notification emails on 23 October stating that their orders were cancelled and their deposits would be returned.

The company announced that all payments made by reservation holders will be refunded within 30 days. Those who place new orders for a Model 3 or Model Y will receive a one-year free subscription to Full Self-Driving (Supervised). Tesla made the announcement one day after reporting its third-quarter 2026 earnings.

Australians began reserving the truck in November 2019 for a A$150 deposit. A 2020 crowdsourced survey placed Australia as the third-largest market for reservations, behind the United States and Canada. By 2023, tracking data estimated total reservations at roughly two million units. Tesla quietly closed the Australian reservation page in May 2022 without issuing refunds at that time.

In 2024, Tesla shipped a single Cybertruck to Australia for a display tour. CEO Elon Musk told shareholders that year that the company might certify the vehicle for other markets the following year. No right-hand-drive version followed, leaving the truck unavailable in countries that require it.

The primary obstacle is that the Cybertruck is manufactured exclusively in left-hand drive. Australia, New Zealand, the UK, and Japan mandate right-hand-drive vehicles. Australia also requires specific design certifications, adding cost to a vehicle facing soft demand in North America. Tesla has limited its international rollout to left-hand-drive markets, including South Korea, the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Jordan, and Israel.

Tesla reported delivering 8,295 "Other Models" in the third quarter of 2026, a category now dominated by the Cybertruck after Model S and Model X production ended. This figure suggests annual sales of roughly 30,000 units, well below the production line capacity of 250,000 annually. The combined population of Australia and New Zealand is approximately 33 million.

US Cybertruck sales fell sharply from about 39,000 units in 2024. The vehicle remains blocked from the European Union primarily due to pedestrian safety concerns. Tesla now appears to be treating the Cybertruck as a niche product for North America and select left-hand-drive international markets.