We don't want Australia to be a Tesla Cybertruck dumping ground | Opinion

The on-again, off-again Tesla Cybertruck launch in Australia appears to at last be on again, with a version of the electric pick-up doing the rounds at our EV shows and the brand's local chief confirming a slightly modified version of the vehicle is under review.

"It [Cybertruck] remains under review. It's certainly not confirmed yet," Thom Drew, Country Director (Motors) for Australia & New Zealand at Tesla recently told CarsGuide.

"The local team and certainly the interest we're seeing after the Everything Electric Show in Sydney, and we've been doing our own tour for 12 months now, heaps of interest in Australia, but definitely only under the review stage at this point.

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"From my understanding, not to speak on behalf of the engineering team, the main structure of the vehicle would remain the same. There are certain changes that are required for ADR compliance, obviously, but it would look very, very similar."

The big question, of course, is why? Could it be that the company's global boss, the increasingly manic Musk, has a soft spot for Australia, and so – after first taking deposits, before removing the ability to order the vehicle from the Australian site completely, leaving customers to chase down their own money – he will now finally deliver the Cybertruck to Australia.

Or could it be that the almighty bellyflop that has been the Cybertruck has left Tesla with way more metal than customers, and so the brand is looking for a way to stem losses by flogging it anywhere and everywhere they can?

I'll leave that for you to decide, but consider that Tesla invested a huge sum in the Cybertruck - some reports have it in excess of US$1b - with a bold prediction to sell 250,000 per year. This year, the brand is on track to sell 25,000.

In fact, according to Cox Automotive, total Cybertruck sales since late 2023 are a total 46,000 units. That's so far off its lofty targets it's staggering.

The models they have delivered have been beset with problems, too, with a total of eight recalls across its first two years of life, some for pretty serious issues, like the windscreen flying off or the accelerator pedal coming loose. And that's before you consider the broken promises on everything from price to driving range.

This week we learned that Tesla is slowing production of the Cybertruck, with Business Insider reporting that some teams had been halved, with workers shifted to Model Y lines.

It only gets worse. Reports out of the USA suggest Tesla won't accept Cybertruck trade-ins from its customers, presumably worried about having to shift its own second-hand product, and its own inventory suggests it's sitting on around 2400 unsold trucks.

2025 Tesla Cybertruck

And in the face of all this, the Cybertruck is suddenly firming for Australia.

Coincidence? Perhaps. But I for one would rather not see Australia turn into a dumping ground for excess production capacity of what could prove the greatest automotive folly of all time.

Cybertruck? You can keep it.