Tesla Cybertruck Cancelled for Australia: Deposits Refunded, and the Electric Utes You Can Buy Instead

US-market Tesla Cybertruck shown. Image: Tesla

If you put a deposit on a Cybertruck when reservations opened and have been waiting ever since, you can stop. Tesla has emailed its Australian and New Zealand reservation holders to say the truck isn't coming, your reservation is being cancelled and your money is coming back. There is a consolation offer attached, but it is only worth something if you were already in the market for a Model 3 or Model Y.

One thing to be clear about up front: Tesla hasn't put this in a press release or on its Australian website. The news is in an email to customers, and what we know of that email comes from the outlets that saw it, so the details below are written as reported, with the outlet named.

What Tesla Told Reservation Holders

The email went out on the morning of Friday 23 October, according to EV Central. The key line, quoted the same way by Drive, CarsGuide, EV Central and Torque Cafe, reads: “After careful consideration, plans to produce Cybertruck for Australia and New Zealand have been discontinued.” The same email, as reported, says the reservation will be cancelled and any payments made will be refunded in full.

We went looking for anything public from Tesla on 23 October. Tesla's Australian Cybertruck address now lands on its home page, whose vehicle menu offers two cars to order, the Model 3 and Model Y. There is no statement explaining the decision, and EV Central reports Tesla hasn't explained it beyond the email.

If You Paid a Deposit

• The refund. Drive, EV Central and Torque Cafe report the Australian deposit was $150. EV Central reports Tesla will send a second email to confirm refund details, and that the money comes back within 30 days of that. If you don't see it, check your junk folder before chasing Tesla.
• The FSD offer. Buy a new Model 3 or Model Y and a year of Full Self-Driving (Supervised) is thrown in, according to Drive, CarsGuide, EV Central and Torque Cafe. EV Central reports it can be stacked with Tesla's current offers. Drive reports the offer is valued at $1,788, and EV Central reports the subscription normally runs $149 a month.
• What that offer is really worth. Nothing, unless you were going to buy a Tesla anyway. In our directory the Model 3 starts at $45,900 and the Model Y at $58,900, both before on-road costs, so it is a sweetener on a purchase, not compensation. And it is a supervised system: you are still the driver.

How It Got Here, Briefly

EV Central reports Australians could reserve a Cybertruck from late 2019, that the local reservation page came down in May 2022 without automatic refunds, and that Tesla brought evaluation trucks here from 2024 for a national roadshow. US deliveries started in 2023, Drive notes.

As late as 2025 there was talk of a right-hand-drive version. Drive reported Tesla Australia country director Thom Drew saying the team was talking with engineers about building one, but that “it would only be for our market”. Tooling up a truck for a single country was going to be a tough sell, though Tesla hasn't said whether that is why it pulled the plug.

The Electric Utes You Can Actually Get

There is no Cybertruck-sized electric pick-up in our directory. The full-size pick-ups we list as on sale, the Ford F-150, RAM 1500, Chevrolet Silverado and Toyota Tundra, are all petrol or diesel, and the Tundra is a petrol hybrid that doesn't plug in.

Drop down to dual-cab size and there are real options. Below is every electric ute in our directory that is on sale or carries an Australian price, plus a selection of the plug-in hybrids.

Current price on CarSorted: Toyota HiLux BEV SR Double Cab Cab-Chassis $74,990 RRP, as at 22 Aug 2026; Toyota HiLux BEV SR5 Double Cab Pick-Up $82,990 RRP, as at 22 Aug 2026; KGM Musso EV 2WD $60,000 RRP, as at 5 Aug 2026; MG U9 EV TBA $78,990 RRP, as at 3 Oct 2026.

As at 23 October 2026. RRP is the maker's list price before on-road costs; the KGM figures are the drive-away prices KGM prints on its own site. The MG price is from MG's online configurator, and MG's site still lists the U9 EV as coming soon. Battery and towing are the figures held against each car in our directory.

The MG U9 EV is the closest thing to what Cybertruck depositors were hoping for: big battery, 3,500kg braked towing, and a price MG has already printed. The HiLux BEV is on sale now with Toyota's backing, but it is rated to tow 2,000kg. The Musso EV is the cheapest way into an electric ute on KGM's own drive-away pricing, at the cost of an 1,800kg tow rating. Don't count on the Isuzu D-Max EV, which has also been cancelled for Australia.

If you want to tow properly and still plug in, the plug-in hybrids are the practical answer. Beyond the table, the GWM Cannon Alpha PHEV, GWM Cannon Hi4-T PHEV and Ford Ranger PHEV are on sale too, and the Chery Stockman is coming without a price yet.

What This Means for Buyers

If you were holding out for a Cybertruck, the wait is over and your deposit is on its way back. If what you wanted was an electric ute that tows, the MG U9 EV is the one to watch, and until it lands a plug-in hybrid like the Shark 6 Performance or Hunter PHEV gets you 3,500kg on paper. Run your actual trailer through TowingSorted before you commit, because the braked rating is only half the story once the tray is loaded.