Tesla’s futuristic-looking ‘Cybertruck’ spotted on Australian streets despite fears it wouldn’t meet local standards – so will you be able to buy one?

Tesla’s futuristic stainless steel Cybertruck has been spotted on Australian streets but locals eager to purchase the sharply-angled electric vehicle shouldn’t hold their breath.

The Cybertruck – which one caller to Sydney radio station 2GB described as looking like ‘a fridge on wheels’ – has been seen near Sydney Airport, in North Sydney and parked between two other Tesla models at Bondi Beach in the eastern suburbs.

It was also seen parked outside the upmarket Royal Oak Hotel in Double Bay during its unheralded tour of the city which was faithfully captured by social media. 

The vehicle, however, is only a demonstration model which has been given temporary number plates by Queensland’s Department of Transport for limited ‘road use’.

The model appears to have left-hand steering unlike standard right-hand Australian vehicles. 

Drive.com managing editor Trent Nikolic dismissed the sightings as a ‘publicity stunt’ to get people talking about Tesla and their other products. 

‘The most up-to-hand information from Tesla is that the Cybertruck won’t be produced in right-hand drive so it won’t be built in a way that will be sold in Australia,’ he told Ben Fordham on 2GB breakfast.

The vehicle’s uncompromising design means it is unlikely to meet Australian safety standards in its current US form, with no timeline now for an Australian model.

Although Tesla was initially accepting Cybertruck pre-orders from Australian buyers, this has now been discontinued, and Australians can only request updates on the official website.

Those who put down the $150 deposit have been offered the chance to put the money towards the US-based company’s Model Y SUV or Model 3 sedan. 

The basic Cybertruck costs over AU$93,000 in the US and has a fully charged range of about 400km.

It can go from 0 to 100km in around seven seconds and tow about four tonnes.

Higher range models cost over AU$122,000, up to the so-called Tesla Cyberbeast at $153,000, offering greater range, faster acceleration and more powerful towing capability.

Instead of a normal instrument panel, the Cybertruck has one mounted touchscreen as the single control along with the steering wheel and two driving pedals. 

Tesla and its famed CEO Elon Musk are facing major headaches in the US over not being able to supply Cybertrucks, with manufacturing delays compounded by having to issue a major safety recall over a design flaw with the accelerator pedal.

A major slump in the sales of electric vehicles worldwide has also caused Tesla to recently announce plans to sack more than 10 percent of its global staff,  which is about 14,000 workers.

The Cybertruck’s heavy weight, large width and inflexible steel exoskeleton, which result in reduced crumple zones, pose safety concerns and almost certainly would see it banned from being sold in Australia in its current design.

In response to a query from Cars Guide, the Transport and Regional Development said upon request it would provide Tesla with the Australian standards ‘to plan and incorporate our requirements when they design and manufacture road vehicles’.

The Cybertruck was launched as a concept vehicle in 2019 in a blaze of publicity by Elon Musk who said its hardened sides were so tough they were bulletproof.

He also claimed the windows could withstand someone throwing a large metal ball bearing at them  – but the glass shattered when he tried to demonstrate that. 

Originally the company said Cybertrucks would be on the streets in 2021 but the first models were not delivered until late in 2023. 

The mass recall of Cybertrucks in the US followed reports the accelerator pedal could become stuck when its cover slipped off, accelerating vehicles to top speeds within seconds.

Mr Musk insisted on X that ‘there were no injuries or accidents because of this. We are just being very cautious’.

However, he did not clarify when Cybertruck deliveries will restart, with many customers told ‘two weeks at best’ or nothing at all. 

Hundreds of Cybertrucks have been spotted stacking up at the Tesla Gigafactory in Texas as customers wait for their deliveries.

Writing about the backlog and how it might affect Cybertrucks coming to Australia, Cars Guide journalist Richard Berry was pessimistic.

‘Unless another factory is used to produce the Cybertruck it could be at least eight years before it arrives here – and that’s using Elon Musk’s own production forecasts,’ he wrote.