Tesla cybertruck explodes outside Trump hotel in Las Vegas, one dead
4 Min Read
Reports of one death and seven injuries in Las Vegas after a Tesla Cybertruck packed with fireworks exploded.
-
Clark County Fire Department crews work outside the Trump International Hotel in Las Vegas after the fire and explosion of a Tesla Cybertruck in the valet area, on January 1, 2025. (AP)
One person was killed and seven others injured after a Tesla Cybertruck packed with fireworks exploded outside President-elect Donald Trump’s Las Vegas hotel on Wednesday. Authorities are investigating the possible motives behind the incident.
Las Vegas police confirmed that the explosion, which occurred at around 8:40 am local time, resulted in the death of the person inside the truck, which also contained camp fuel canisters. Seven people nearby suffered minor injuries.
Police Sheriff Kevin McMahill commented on the situation, saying, "This is a Tesla truck, and we know that Elon Musk is working with President-elect Trump, and it’s the Trump Tower. So there’s obviously things to be concerned about, and it’s something we continue to look at."
McMahill added that investigators had identified the person who rented the truck through the Turo app in Colorado, but were withholding the name until it was confirmed whether that individual was the one who died in the explosion.
A video shown at a press conference displayed a pile of charred fireworks mortars, canisters, and other explosive materials packed into the back of the truck. The truck’s bed walls remained intact, as the blast shot upwards rather than outward.
It looks like a suicide bomber.
— 🇺🇸 Tesla Hawk 🇺🇸 (@TeslaHawx) January 1, 2025
- The Cybertruck pulls up to the front of Trump Tower.
- No one gets out
- Cybertruck explodes with most of the energy being in the truck bed and going out through the cover. pic.twitter.com/MWVANEnMoi
Police also revealed that video footage from Tesla charging stations, provided by Musk, helped track the truck’s movements. The vehicle arrived in Las Vegas at around 7:30 a.m. and later drove into the valet area of the Trump International Hotel, where it sat for about 15 to 20 seconds before the explosion occurred.
Jeremy Schwartz, acting special agent in charge of the FBI's Las Vegas office, stated, “Our number one goal is to ensure that we have the proper identification of the subject involved in this incident. Following that, our second objective is to determine whether this was an act of terrorism or not."
Not an isolated incident
The explosion comes just hours after a separate truck incident in New Orleans' French Quarter, which resulted in at least 15 deaths. President Joe Biden confirmed that law enforcement was exploring potential connections between the two incidents.
Elon Musk, the CEO of Tesla, reacted to the explosion on X (formerly Twitter), saying, “The whole Tesla senior team is investigating what happened and we’ve never seen anything like this.” Musk later confirmed the explosion was caused by “very large fireworks and/or a bomb carried in the bed of the rented Cybertruck,” clarifying that it was unrelated to the vehicle itself. He added that the incident “is likely to be a terrorist attack” and raised the possibility of a connection to the New Orleans tragedy.
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.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) January 1, 2025
All vehicle telemetry was positive at the time of the explosion. https://t.co/HRjb87YbaJ
Musk, a prominent supporter of Trump, has been actively involved in the president-elect’s campaign and is set to take on a new role in Trump's upcoming administration as the head of a newly-formed “department of government efficiency.” This decision has sparked concerns about potential conflicts of interest and national security issues due to Musk's global business ties.
Witnesses described the explosion, with Ana Bruce from Brazil recounting hearing three blasts: “The first one where we saw the fire, the second one, I guess, was the battery or something like that, and the third was the big one that smoked the entire area and was the moment when everyone was told to evacuate and stay away.”
Eric Trump, the son of the president-elect, also commented on the incident, praising the fire department and law enforcement for their “swift response and professionalism.”
The Trump International Hotel Las Vegas, located just off the famed Strip, was the site of the explosion. It is worth noting that authorities continue to investigate the cause of the fire, but no official statement has been released yet.
