A Tesla Cybertruck exploded in flames outside Trump International Hotel in Las Vegas on Wednesday, January 1, killing the driver and injuring seven others, and the FBI was investigating whether the blast was an act of terrorism, officials said. Videos taken by witnesses inside and outside the hotel showed the vehicle exploding with flames. The incident occurred just hours after a man drove a truck into crowds of New Year’s Day revelers in New Orleans, killing 15.
The Trump International Hotel is part of the Trump Organization, the company of President-elect Donald Trump. Tesla CEO Elon Musk was a key backer of Trump in his 2024 presidential campaign and is also an adviser to the incoming President.
Responding to the blast, Musk said that it was unrelated to the Cybertruck itself. “We have now confirmed that the explosion was caused by very large fireworks and/or a bomb carried in the bed of the rented Cybertruck and is unrelated to the vehicle itself,” Musk said in a post on X. “All vehicle telemetry was positive at the time of the explosion.” Telemetry involves the automatic collection of data from remote sources, transmitting it back to a central source so it can later be analyzed.
In the first post on the blast Musk said, “The whole Tesla senior team is investigating this matter right now. Will post more information as soon as we learn anything. We’ve never seen anything like this.”
‘Terrorists’ picked wrong vehicle
“The evil knuckleheads picked the wrong vehicle for a terrorist attack. Cybertruck actually contained the explosion and directed the blast upwards. Not even the glass doors of the lobby were broken,” wrote Musk.
Incidentally, both the Cybertruck and the vehicle used in the New Orleans attack had been rented through car-sharing service Turo. Terming it a likely terror attack, Musk wrote, “Appears likely to be an act of terrorism. Both this Cybertruck and the F-150 suicide bomb in New Orleans were rented from Turo. Perhaps they are linked in some way.”
What Las Vegas Police said
“Obviously a Cybertruck, the location – there’s lots of questions that we have to answer,” Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department Sheriff Kevin McMahill said at an afternoon press conference. FBI special agent in charge Jeremy Schwartz later told reporters that it was not yet clear whether the blast was an act of terrorism. He added that the FBI had identified the person driving the vehicle, which had been rented in Colorado, but was not yet ready to publicly identify the driver.
A Turo spokesperson said the company did not believe either of the renters of the vehicles involved in the Las Vegas and New Orleans attacks had a criminal background that would have identified them as a security threat. “We are actively partnering with law enforcement authorities as they investigate both incidents,” the spokesperson added.
