Tesla Halts Cybertruck Deliveries to Australia and New Zealand, Returns Deposits

Tesla will not sell the Cybertruck in Australia or New Zealand, closing the door on reservations taken seven years ago. In emails to reservation holders reviewed by the company, production plans for those two countries "have been discontinued." Refunds go out within 30 days once a customer confirms their details. Tesla is also offering a year of Full Self-Driving (Supervised) access on any new Model 3 or Model Y order.

The vehicle cannot be registered in either country without a right-hand-drive configuration, and Tesla's factory in Texas has not built one, Drive Australia reported when the first deliveries started in 2023. The same constraint blocks sales in the United Kingdom, Japan and Ireland.

Tesla has not launched the Cybertruck in the United Kingdom or the European Union, and no European regulator has approved it. Rules covering crumple zones, pedestrian safety, lighting and weight classification stand in the way, and the truck's sharp edges are a concern for anyone it might strike. The US Army Customs Agency cited the same issue in a notice: "Several specifications of the Cybertruck, particularly the sharp-edged, stiff stainless-steel body, violate EU safety standards, primarily for the protection of vulnerable road users."

Cybertrucks seen on European roads arrived through single-vehicle approvals granted to individual owners who modified their trucks to meet local requirements.

Tesla has not said whether it will build a right-hand-drive Cybertruck. The company's Model 3 and Model Y are sold in Australia and New Zealand.