Tesla has put the brakes on the angular Cybertruck for Australian customers. The Tesla Australia website abruptly stopped accepting $150 deposits for customers placing orders, replacing the tab with a notice that reads "Get Updates."
The Tesla Cybertruck can no longer be reserved in Australia, according to reports, after Tesla disabled bookings for areas outside of North America. In the United States, Canada, and Mexico, the futuristic pickup truck is still available to order.
The Tesla Cybertruck's online buying platform in Australia was abruptly shut down following claims that the Cybertruck was too huge for Australia and that there would be no right-hand-drive variant.
Elon Musk, Tesla's CEO, has previously hinted that the business may develop a smaller pickup for international markets like as Europe. The Tesla Cybertruck was introduced in 2019 amid a gaffe-filled presentation in which Musk cracked two side windows while attempting to demonstrate its shatterproof nature.
In a promotional film, Tesla also challenged Ford to a tug-of-war with the Ford F-150, which has been America's best-selling truck for nearly half a century.
Ford vs Tesla tug-of-war
According to unsubstantiated media estimates, Tesla would receive $1.5 billion if all Australian deposits were converted into sales. Based on a $100,000 average vehicle price, this means that around 15,000 pre-orders were paid locally.
Tesla is the only car company that sells new cars in substantial quantities in Australia yet does not report sales to the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries. The lack of Tesla sales numbers skews the examination of electric car adoption rates at a time when the technology is receiving a lot of attention. The Australian Bureau of Statistics, CommSec, and other market analysts utilize new-car sales statistics to help governments determine policy in the face of shifting consumer preferences.
According to industry estimates, Tesla exported 10,000 cars to Australia last year, making it the country's largest seller of electric vehicles, outselling major brands like Toyota's premium division Lexus. Despite its immense fortune, it has been stated that Tesla avoids paying full membership costs to the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries by failing to provide sales figures.
Despite the fact that Tesla is a member of the Australian automobile industry advocacy group, it only pays a small fee rather than a much higher rate depending on sales. Most car businesses pay six-figure fees to be a part of the peak lobby organization, which represents the sector in government policy debates and compiles up-to-date sales statistics because state and territory registration agencies across Australia are not in sync.
However, the exact number of Tesla cars sold in Australia last year is still unknown.
Because the data is collected through the national registration authorities in New Zealand, Tesla sales figures have been available for quite some time. After a huge cargo was delivered at the end of the year, the Tesla Model 3 was the fourth best-selling vehicle in New Zealand last month, behind the Toyota HiLux and ahead of the Toyota RAV4.
When data for the complete calendar year was compiled, the Tesla Model 3 was the ninth most popular vehicle in New Zealand in 2021, behind the Nissan Navara and ahead of the Mazda CX-5. Although this is a huge achievement for Tesla in New Zealand, it is unlikely that the brand will fare as well in Australia. The new-car market in New Zealand is around one-tenth the size of that in Australia (165,000 sales in NZ versus 1,049,800 in Australia in 2021).
