Local Tesla boss predicts Cybertruck could come to Australia as early as 2026
The Tesla Cybertruck could be on Australian roads by 2026.
The head of the Australian arm of the EV pioneer is feverishly working on a business case to bring the radical ute Down Under as it looks to broaden its reach and capitalise on increasing interest in electrified pick-up trucks.
Speaking to EV Central, Tesla Australia country director Thom Drew said he was “personally confident” the Cybertruck would make its way here to provide an EV alternative to the RAM 1500, Chevrolet Silverado, Ford F-150 and Toyota Tundra – as well as others in the SUV market.
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Tesla first imported an evaluation Cybertruck to Australia in 2024 and has since brought more into the country as part of its quest to ready the vehicle for local sale.
“We’re making a case to bring it here in right-hand drive … we’re absolutely advocating for it,” said Drew of the Cybertruck, which has a stainless steel body, seats five people and contains plenty of the tech the brand is known for.
“We’re wanting to show off what we can do … but we also want to see what genuine demand there is, garner that feedback,” he said of the car’s national tour and the move to bring the Cybertruck to shows such as the Everything Electric show recently held in Sydney.
He says there has been “very, very strong interest” and when asked about feedback added that “overwhelmingly it’s ‘when can I buy one?’”
While Drew says there are hoops to jump through for the Cybertruck he is optimistic a business case will stack up.
“I’m personally confident we can get it across the line.”
Drew said the Cybertruck was “compliant” to bring to Australia in terms of its size and shape – Tesla tweaked the ute from its original concept to ready it for export markets – but added there were “some changes required to make ADR [Australian Design Rules] required outside just the steering wheel location”.
And, of course, there’s the challenge of being able to sell enough volume to justify the engineering requirements to prepare it for sale in Australia.
That largely comes down to volume.
“Australia really is the only right-hand drive market where we’d be building it for, most likely. There are commercial considerations we need to make.”
Drew said the large pick-up market was one segment the Cybertruck would look to compete in.
But he said he would want to expand beyond the relatively small sales volumes of that slice of the market.
“As we’ve seen with its success in other markets is that it does have much more broad [appeal] than just the large pick-ups,” said Drew. “There’s a lot of different segments that it crosses over with.”
He highlighted the large SUV segment as one it could potentially lure buyers from and reiterated that the large ute market alone would not be enough to justify selling it Down Under.
“If that was our only target segment I wouldn’t be advocating for it.”
Clearly pricing will be crucial to the success or otherwise of the Cybertruck.
Currently it sells from about US$80,000 for a dual-motor version (there’s also a more expensive tri-motor model).
That translates to something like $130,000 in our money.
Like other large pick-up trucks, though, it would likely be classified as a commercial vehicle in turn dodging luxury car tax that adds thousands to the price of SUVs such as the Toyota LandCruiser and Nissan Patrol.
As for when a decision would be made on the Cybertruck, Drew said it was imminent and that If things progressed well it could hit Aussie roads as early as 2026.
“If all things went really well and a decision was ready to be made this year, maybe next year. But I say that very hopefully.”
Tellingly, Tesla hasn’t refunded the $150 deposits the company said tens of thousands of Australians placed between 2019 and 2021 (some have since asked to be refunded).
But, equally, the brand isn’t rushing to reopen deposits until it is confirmed to go on sale here.
“We want to only open it up with a good news story that we’re actually going to bring the car,” said Drew. “Right now that is unconfirmed so we don’t want to be taking pre-orders.”
We don’t want it!