How to see a Tesla Cybertruck in Australia on promotional tour

For the first time Australians will be able to get up close with the Tesla Cybertruck on local soil, as the electric pick-up prepares to go on display in showrooms around the country.

Tesla has still not confirmed if the Cybertruck will be sold in Australia – after the ability to place a refundable deposit locally was shut two years ago – and Drive reported that as of late last year, it was not planned to be built in right-hand drive.

However the US electric-car giant has shipped a left-hand-drive example to Australia in secret – hidden in a shipping container so transport staff could not spoil the surprise – for display and photography.

Today (26 April 2024) the Cybertruck toured iconic Sydney landmarks – including Bondi Beach and Sydney Harbour – to capture photos and videos, with sightings in the beach suburb of Coogee, as well as North Sydney.

It was wearing temporary Queensland 'conditional' licence plates as it is left-hand drive, so it cannot be registered for road use like a normal other vehicle, and can only be driven by Tesla employees.

The Cybertruck will commence a tour of select Tesla showrooms – and other public display locations – in Australia and, later, New Zealand.

Tesla has announced the pick-up will begin at four showrooms in New South Wales:

Details of further locations are yet to be revealed, however Drive understands the pick-up will later visit Victoria, followed by Brisbane in Queensland.

The Cybertruck on display is understood to be a Dual Motor version, marketed among the initial batch of Foundation Series versions for early buyers in the US.

It is priced from $US79,990 ($AU123,000) – or more than two entry-level Tesla Model 3 sedans, which in Australia retails for $58,900 plus on-road costs.

Powering this version of the Cybertruck are two electric motors – one on each axle – for a 447kW power output, 547km claimed driving range, 0-100km/h acceleration time of 4.1 seconds, and a 4990kg braked towing capacity in the US.

It makes it quicker than a Tesla Model 3 Long Range sedan – or a Holden Commodore or Ford Falcon V8 – with a towing capacity greater than '1500' class US pick-ups sold in Australia.

US buyers can opt for an even quicker, tri-motor Cyberbeast version – priced from $US99,990 ($AU154,000) – with 630kW, a 2.7-second 0-100km/h time, and a 515km claimed driving range.

The Tesla Cybertruck is sold out for 2024 – and new orders placed in the US today would translate to 2025 delivery– and the company announced last week it is now building 1000 examples per week, towards an annual production goal of 125,000.

It is unclear if Tesla's claims of 1 million pre-orders – which would suggest a much longer queue than just this year – is valid.

As reported earlier today, the presence of a Cybertruck in Australia is puzzling given it was understood – based on Drive sources – the electric pick-up would not be manufactured in right-hand drive for sale locally.

Multiple Tesla sources told Drive last year that the Texas factory where the Cybertruck is exclusively manufactured has not been configured to support the production of right-hand-drive vehicles, and there were no current plans to do so.

It appears the plan has changed – or Tesla is looking for a fresh indication of interest in the Cybertruck in Australia, to decide if it should develop a right-hand-drive version.

In recent months, Tesla has taken the Cybertruck on a tour of key right-hand-drive markets in Asia-Pacific – including Thailand, Malaysia and Japan – as well as Europe, where it has been confirmed it will not be sold.

The Tesla Cybertruck still appears on the company's Australian website, though in late 2021 a function allowing local customers to place a $150 deposit was removed.

Earlier this year, Tesla Australia offered Cybertruck deposit holders locally – who have been waiting in the queue for up to four and a half years – a credit towards a Model 3 or Model Y.

Comments made by CEO Elon Musk, in the years since the Cybertruck's reveal as a concept in 2019, indicated it will not meet European motor-vehicle regulations – to which Australia is more closely aligned than to US standards – and that export markets outside the US may not be well suited to the vehicle’s size.

Just over 10 of the 45 to 50 markets in which Tesla sells cars are right-hand drive, but it is estimated only about 10 per cent of vehicles sold by the company in 2022 have their steering wheel on the right-hand side.