Tesla returns deposits to 2 million truck waiters

Tesla customers in Australia and New Zealand have waited nearly seven years for a pickup that will no longer arrive. On October 23, 2026, the company emailed reservation holders to confirm their orders are cancelled and their deposits will be returned.

The cancellation ends a process that began in November 2019. At that time, Australians could reserve a Cybertruck with a A$150 deposit. The email to customers stated that plans to produce the vehicle for these markets have been discontinued. It added that Tesla is unable to fulfill the reservation.

Tesla said it will process full refunds within 30 days. Customers who choose to order a new Model 3 or Model Y instead will receive a free one-year subscription to Full Self-Driving (Supervised). This offer aims to convert stalled reservations into sales of right-hand-drive vehicles.

The obstacle preventing the truck's arrival is its design. The Cybertruck is built only in left-hand drive. Australia and New Zealand require vehicles to steer from the right side. Certification under local design rules is costly, and the vehicle faces weak demand in North America.

Crowdsourced tracking estimated total reservations at roughly 2 million by 2023. A 2020 survey placed Australia third in global reservations, behind the United States and Canada. Tesla quietly closed the Australian reservation page in May 2022 but did not refund customers at that time.

In 2024, Elon Musk told shareholders that the company might certify the truck for other markets the following year. No right-hand-drive version followed. Tesla delivered the truck to South Korea in late 2025 and to the UAE in January 2026. It remains blocked in the European Union over pedestrian safety concerns.

Sales data suggests a niche market. Tesla delivered 8,295 units of its other models in the third quarter of 2026. This category now consists almost entirely of Cybertrucks, as Model S and Model X production has ended. Estimates place quarterly Cybertruck sales at 7,000 to 8,000 units.