Tesla returns deposits to 2 million Cybertruck buyers

Email notifications landed in inboxes across the Pacific region on Wednesday, October 23.

The messages confirmed that Tesla had formally voided nearly two million Cybertruck reservations in Australia and New Zealand. The company stated that full refunds would be processed within 30 days. Those who switched their orders to a new Model 3 or Model Y received a complimentary one-year subscription to Full Self-Driving (Supervised).

The decision ends a wait that began in November 2019. At that time, customers could reserve the electric pickup for a deposit of A$150. By 2023, tracking data estimated the total number of reservations had reached roughly 2 million. Tesla had quietly disabled the Australian reservation page in May 2022, replacing it with a simple update button, but did not return funds until this week.

The central technical hurdle was the vehicle's orientation. The Cybertruck is manufactured exclusively in left-hand drive. Australia and New Zealand require right-hand drive configurations. Elon Musk told shareholders in 2024 that the company might certify the truck for other markets the following year, but no right-hand-drive version materialized. Tesla also faces strict local design rules in Australia that make certification costly.

The move comes as the truck struggles to gain traction in its home market. In the third quarter of 2026, Tesla delivered 8,295 units categorized as "Other Models," a group now dominated by Cybertrucks. Electrek estimates annual sales at approximately 30,000 vehicles. This figure falls far short of the production line's capacity of 250,000 units per year. Sales had dropped from about 39,000 in 2024.

Tesla's international expansion has remained limited to left-hand-drive countries. Deliveries started in South Korea in late 2025 and the UAE in January 2026. Configurator pages appeared later in Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Jordan, and Israel. The truck remains unavailable in the European Union due to pedestrian safety concerns. The cancellation marks a clear pivot toward treating the Cybertruck as a niche product primarily for the American market.

Many Australian customers had already canceled their reservations. The truck delivered in 2023 carried a higher price tag and less range than initially promised. The new emails arrived one day after Tesla reported its third-quarter earnings, signaling a shift in strategy for the electric pickup.