The United States Army soldier inside the Tesla Cybertruck that burst into flames outside President-elect Donald Trump’s Las Vegas hotel had shot himself in the head before the explosion, and likely planned to cause more damage, but the explosive was rudimentary and the steel-sided vehicle absorbed much of the force, officials said, on Thursday, January 2.
Seven people nearby suffered minor injuries when the Tesla truck exploded. Video showed a tumble of charred fireworks mortars, canisters and other explosive devices crowded into the back of the pickup. The truck bed walls were still intact because the blast shot straight up rather than to the sides.
Damage from the blast was mostly limited to the interior of the truck. The blast “vented out and up” and didn’t hit the Trump hotel doors just a few feet away, the sheriff said. “The level of sophistication is not what we would expect from an individual with this type of military experience,” said Kenny Cooper, a special agent in charge for the the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk said Wednesday afternoon on X that “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.” “All vehicle telemetry was positive at the time of the explosion,” Musk wrote.
A self-inflicted shot
Clark County Sheriff Kevin McMahill said at a news conference that a handgun was found at the feet of the man, who officials believe is Matthew Livelsberger. Officials believe the shot was self-inflicted.
Among other charred items found inside the truck were a second firearm, a number of fireworks, passport, military ID, credit cards, an iPhone and a smartwatch, McMahill said. Authorities said both guns were purchased legally.
Investigators have not definitively identified the remains as Livelsberger, but the IDs and tattoos on the body “give a strong indication that it’s him,” the sheriff said.
Livelsberger served in the Green Berets, highly trained special forces who work to counter terrorism abroad and train partners, the Army said in a statement. He had served in the Army since 2006, rising through the ranks with a long career of overseas assignments, deploying twice to Afghanistan and serving in Ukraine, Tajikistan, Georgia and Congo, the Army said.
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He was awarded two Bronze Stars, including one with a valor device for courage under fire, a combat infantry badge and an Army Commendation Medal with valor. Livelsberger was on approved leave when he died, according to the statement.
McMahill said Livelsberger rented the Tesla electric vehicle in Denver on Saturday and the sheriff displayed a map showing that it was charged in the Colorado town of Monument near Colorado Springs on Monday. On New Year’s Eve, it was charged in Trinidad, Colorado, and the towns of Las Vegas, Albuquerque and Gallup in New Mexico, along the Interstate 40 corridor.
Then on Wednesday, the day of the explosion, it was charged in the Arizona towns of Holbrook, Flagstaff and Kingman before video showed it on the Las Vegas Strip about 7:30 am.
The FBI said Thursday in a post on X that it was “conducting law enforcement activity” at a home in Colorado Springs related to Wednesday’s explosion but provided no other details.
‘No definitive link’ with New Orleans attack
The explosion of the truck, packed with firework mortars and camp fuel canisters, came hours after 42-year-old Shamsud-Din Jabbar rammed a truck into a crowd in New Orleans’ famed French Quarter early on New Year’s Day, killing at least 15 people before being shot to death by police. That crash was being investigated as a terrorist attack. The FBI said Thursday that they believe Jabbar acted alone, reversing its position from a day earlier that he likely worked with others.
Both Livelsberger and Jabbar spent time at the base formerly known as Fort Bragg, a massive Army base in North Carolina that is home to multiple Army special operations units. However, one of the officials who spoke to the Associated Press (AP) said there is no overlap in their assignments at the base, now called Fort Liberty.
Chris Raia, FBI deputy assistant director, said Thursday that officials have found ‘no definitive link’ between the New Orleans attack and the truck explosion in Las Vegas.
