Fireworks and fuel canisters stuffed into the back of a Tesla Cybertruck exploded outside President-elect Donald Trump’s Las Vegas hotel early Wednesday, killing the suspect inside and launching a high-stakes investigation into possible terrorism.
Las Vegas Sheriff Kevin McMahill said authorities know who rented the truck through the Turo app in Colorado, but they’re holding off on releasing the name until they confirm if it’s the same person who died.
The explosion rocked the valet area of the Trump International Hotel, leaving one person dead inside the truck and seven others nearby with minor injuries. By late Wednesday, authorities were still working to recover the body and examine the evidence inside the vehicle. President Joe Biden was briefed on the situation.
FBI Special Agent Jeremy Schwartz said the top priorities are identifying the suspect and figuring out whether this was an act of terrorism.
Surveillance video from Tesla charging stations, provided by CEO Elon Musk, helped investigators trace the truck’s journey. It arrived in Las Vegas around 7:30 AM and pulled into the valet area about an hour later. The explosion happened just 15 to 20 seconds after the truck stopped.
Musk addressed the incident on X, saying, “We have now confirmed 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.” He added that all vehicle telemetry was normal at the time of the blast. Earlier, Musk had said his team was investigating, noting, “We’ve never seen anything like this.”
Musk has become a close ally of Trump, spending an estimated $250 million to support his presidential campaign. Both attended Trump’s New Year’s Eve party in Florida, but neither were in Las Vegas at the time of the explosion. Trump has even tapped Musk to help lead efforts to cut government spending.
McMahill acknowledged the optics of the situation when reporters asked about political motives. “This is a Tesla truck. We know Elon Musk is working with President-elect Trump, and this happened at Trump Tower. So, of course, we have concerns,” he said.
The explosion came just hours after another attack in New Orleans, where a driver plowed into a crowd on Bourbon Street, killing at least 15 people. Authorities are investigating that incident as a terrorist act and believe the driver may not have acted alone.
While the investigations into both attacks continue, authorities are on high alert, looking for connections and clues that might point to larger threats.
