Tesla Cybertruck bursts into flames outside Trump hotel

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A Tesla Cybertruck burst into flames Wednesday morning just outside the entrance of the Trump International Hotel in Las Vegas, killing one person and injuring several others, according to local officials.

The Clark County Fire Department confirmed that it had responded to a vehicle fire in the valet area of the Trump International Hotel at approximately 8:40 a.m. local time.

In a news conference, Clark County Fire Department Deputy Chief Thomas Touchstone said that as first responders began to extinguish the fire, they "realized at the same time that there were multiple persons with injuries located around the vehicle."

Touchstone said seven people were injured, two of whom were transported to University Medical Center of Southern Nevada in Las Vegas.

Touchstone said officials are working to recover the body of the deceased from the Cybertruck. Officials asked that the public stay away from the scene for the time being.

The cause of the fire was not immediately clear.

In videos circulating online, sirens can be heard inside the lobby of the Trump International Hotel as the vehicle just outside the doors is seen engulfed in flames. One person on social media said they were near the front door when the vehicle exploded and were forced to leave their luggage by the door.

In a statement posted to X, Tesla CEO Elon Musk wrote: “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.”

The FBI Las Vegas also said in a statement to NBC News that it “has personnel on scene to offer assistance to our local partners, who handled the initial response.”

The Trump International Hotel has been evacuated, and guests have been moved to Resorts World Las Vegas, officials said during the news conference.

In a statement from the Trump Organization, which was also shared by President-elect Donald Trump's son Eric Trump on X, the organization acknowledged that “a reported electric vehicle fire occurred in the porte cochère of Trump Las Vegas.”

The Trump International Hotel Las Vegas is owned by the Trump Organization and American businessman Phil Ruffin.

In videos of the lobby, loud blasts can be heard as the fire grows larger just beyond the entrance to the hotel, which is embossed with the letter "T" for Trump.

Mary Lescano Paguada, 43, who was on vacation in Las Vegas from San Antonio, Texas, to celebrate the new year at Trump International Hotel, told NBC News she heard an explosion in the early morning.

Initially, she didn't worry until she started seeing law enforcement responding the scene.

Paguada said once she and her husband reached he lobby, they heard screaming and were told by hotel staff to get out and "don't breathe the smoke. Don't stay."

She said they were not allowed to return to their rooms after they went downstairs in an attempt to get them to evacuate the area.

Social media posts showed smoke filling the air in the area around the building. Other videos taken from nearby hotels show first responders appearing to race to the scene of the fire.

Authorities are investigating a Tesla Cybertruck explosion on Wednesday outside the Trump Las Vegas hotel in Nevada as a possible act of terror, an official said.

The Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department said it was investigating a fire at the entrance to the tower. The public was told to avoid the area, though the police noted the fire had been put out.

The driver pulled into the valet area of the hotel and the vehicle exploded, according to an official. The driver was killed and, so far, the only casualty from the incident. Seven bystanders had minor injuries, authorities said.

Investigators do not know what caused the blast, such as whether something was wrong with the vehicle or whether something external prompted it. Determining what was behind the explosion is the key focus of the probe.

An official briefed on the probe told ABC News that the Tesla Cybertruck had a load of fireworks-style mortars onboard. Investigators were urgently working to determine a motive and whether the driver intended to set off an explosion and why.

Until a motive is determined and other possibilities are ruled out, police are treating the explosion like a possible criminal act and a possible act of terror. Evidence collection and investigation are ongoing.

Multiple law enforcement sources told ABC News that the Cybertruck that exploded in Las Vegas was rented on the Turo App -- the same app sources said was used to rent the pickup truck used in the overnight attack in New Orleans.

As police continue to investigate whether what took place was a malicious act, the city sheriff said he does not believe there is any further threat to the community.

"We believe everything is safe now," said Sheriff Kevin McMahill.

But he did warn the public to stay away, saying, "We don't know what we don't know."

The property is the subject of frequent threats and heightened security given its connection to President-elect Donald Trump.

Elon Musk, the CEO of Tesla and a close ally of Trump, said on Wednesday afternoon that the "whole Tesla senior team is investigating this matter right now."

"Will post more information as soon as we learn anything," Musk wrote on X, which he also owns. "We’ve never seen anything like this."

Musk later posted on X: "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." It's not known if Musk's claim has been independently verified.

An official briefed on the investigation told ABC News “this was not a lithium battery” blast, as some have speculated online. There have been instances in the past of battery compartments in Tesla vehicles spontaneously catching fire.

President Joe Biden has been briefed on the fire and explosion near the Trump International Hotel Las Vegas and has directed his team to offer any federal assistance needed, the White House said.

atthew Livelsberger has been named as the suspect found dead inside an explosives-filled Tesla Cybertruck that blew up outside President-elect Donald Trump's Las Vegas hotel on Wednesday, New Year's Day 2025.

Investigators are also working to determine whether or not the explosion could be politically motivated or linked to the New Orleans attack, in which a truck rammed a crowd and killed 15 people on the same day. That crash is being investigated as a terrorist attack and police think the driver did not act alone.

"This is a Tesla truck, and we know that Elon Musk is working with President-elect Trump, and it's the Trump Tower," Police Department Sheriff Kevin McMahill said Wednesday when asked about possible connections. "So there's obviously things to be concerned about and it's something we continue to look at."

McMahill said Wednesday that authorities believe the Cybertruck blast to be an "isolated incident," but have not ruled out a link to the New Orleans attack.

"Our number one goal is to ensure that we have the proper identification of the subject involved in this incident," said Jeremy Schwartz, acting special agent in charge for the FBI's Las Vegas office, on Wednesday. "Following that, our second objective is to determine whether this was an act of terrorism or not."

Who Is Matthew Livelsberger?
Details are quickly beginning to emerge about Matthew Livelsberger.

The 37-year-old is a U.S. Army veteran who had multiple addresses in Colorado Springs, according to local station KOAA.

A Linkedin profile of the same name shows Livelsberger had been in the army for 19 years, 18 of which were with the Special Forces.

His most recent role was listed as a Remote and Autonomous Systems Manager, which had been in for three months.

Is Matthew Livelsberger Linked to Shamsud-Din Jabbar?
Livelsberger served at the same base as Shamsud-Din Jabbar, the suspect in a New Orleans truck attack, according to Denver-based station KMGH.

Newsweek is working to verify this report.

Investigators said on Wednesday that possible links between the New Orleans attack and explosion in Las Vegas, both on New Year's Day, were not being ruled out.

Cybertruck Limited the Blast, Police Say
Police have suggested the Cybertruck had helped limit the blast's radius.

Showing reporters video footage of the aftermath at a press briefing on Wednesday, Sheriff Kevin McMahill of the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department said, "it looks like the exterior of the truck is completely in tact.

"The fact that this was a Cybertruck really limited the damage that occurred inside the valet."

He added that this was because the Cybertruck "had most of the blast go up through the truck and out," meaning that the front glass doors of the Trump hotel were not broken by the explosion.

Tesla CEO Elon Musk also commented on the Cybertruck's effectiveness at containing the explosion, writing on X, "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."

The next four years summed up in a nutshell.

Investigators have yet to determine what drove an active-duty U.S. Army soldier to rent a Tesla Cybertruck and drive it to the Trump International Hotel in Las Vegas, where he appeared to shoot himself in the head before the vehicle exploded New Year’s Day.

But on Thursday evening, the Clark County Coroner identified the driver of the vehicle as Livelsberger, noting that the cause of death was intraoral gunshot wound and the manner of death was suicide.

At about 8:40 a.m. New Year's Day, the truck was seen pulling up to the valet entrance of the hotel before stopping. Seventeen seconds later, the vehicle blew up, and fireworks could be heard shooting from the bulletproof truck.

Along with fireworks, McMahill said the truck contained camping fuel and gasoline. The explosion did not damage the body of the truck, other than glass and the bed cover, the sheriff noted.

While the subject’s body was burnt beyond recognition, McMahill also said the individual sustained a gunshot wound to the head prior to detonation, and a handgun was found at his feet inside the vehicle.

McMahill would not say Livelsberger was on a suicide mission, though he did call it "a suicide with a bombing that occurred immediately thereafter."

The Associated Press reported that Livelsberger had recently returned from an overseas assignment in Germany and was on approved leave when he died, according to a U.S. official.

A law enforcement official also told the AP investigators learned through interviews that Livelsberger may have gotten into a fight with his wife about relationship issues shortly before he rented the Tesla and legally purchased handguns found in the truck. The official spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity because the official was not authorized to discuss the ongoing investigation.

Livelsberger appears to have at one point been married to Sara Livelsberger, a 38-year-old who lives in Delray Beach, Florida. The Denver Post reported Matthew Livelsberger divorced in 2018 and remarried in 2022.

In Facebook posts from 2016, Sara said she was a registered Democrat and shared images that disparaged President-elect Trump.

Although Livelsberger lives in Colorado, he has connections in Ohio.

The Columbus Dispatch in Ohio reported that Livelsberger was issued a speeding ticket in Franklin County for driving 70 mph in a 65 mph zone in September 2011.

Livelsberger reportedly had a Westerville address, the publication reported. He also owns property in Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio, according to property records obtained by The Columbus Dispatch.

He graduated from Bucyrus High School in Ohio, where he played baseball and football. But after reportedly getting injured while playing football, Livelsberger enlisted in the U.S. Army and worked with the Special Forces as a communications officer.

His uncle, Dean Livelsberger, told The Independent his nephew "was a 100% patriot" and described him "like a Rambo-type, for lack of a better term."

The Independent reported Dean said his nephew had patriotic subject matter on Facebook and loved President-elect Trump.

Dean also reportedly spoke to the publication about his nephew’s skills with explosives.

“Matt was a very skilled warrior, and he would be able to make — if it was him, and if he did this — he would’ve been able to make a more sophisticated explosive than using propane tanks and camping fuel," he reportedly said. "He was what you might call a ‘supersoldier.’ If you ever read about the things he was awarded and the experience he had, some of it doesn’t make sense, when he had the skills and ability to make something more, let’s say, ‘efficient.’ His skills were enormous from what he had been taught in the military."

With those skills, Dean said, Livelsberger "could have fashioned a bomb that would have obliterated half of that hotel if he seriously wanted to hurt others."

Livelsberger was a Green Beret operations sergeant who spent most of his time at Fort Carson, Colorado, and in Germany. McMahill said Livelsberger was approved leave from Germany, where he was serving with the special forces group. He also previously served in the National Guard and Army Reserve.

U.S. Army Public Affairs told Fox News Livelsberger earned the Bronze Star Medal with Valor; Bronze Star Medal four times; Meritorious Service Medal; Army Commendation Medal with Valor; Army Commendation Medal three times; Army Achievement Medal two times; Army Good Conduct Medal five times; National Defense Service Medal; Afghanistan Campaign Medal with campaign star three times; Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal; Global War on Terrorism Service Medal; Noncommissioned Officer Professional Development Ribbon three times; Army Service Ribbon; Overseas Service Ribbon; NATO Medal two times; Special Forces Tab; Combat Infantryman Badge; Parachutist Badge; and Freefall Badge.

A decorated Army veteran likely suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder called U.S. government leadership "weak" and appeared to acknowledge he purposely blew up a Tesla Cybertruck at the entrance of Trump International Hotel in Las Vegas on New Year's Day, police said Friday.

Dori Koren, an assistant sheriff with the Clark County/Las Vegas Metropolitan Police, said investigators were able to access one of two phones found in the Cybertruck and viewed writing in an app that served almost as a journal, documenting some of Matthew Alan Livelsberger's movements and state of mind from Dec. 21 to New Year's Eve.

Two letters in the phone app appear to point to a motive in the blast, Koren said. In one, he tells "fellow service members, veterans and all Americans" it's time to "wake up" because the country's leadership is "weak" and "only serves to enrich themselves."

A second letter appeared to shed more light on Livelsberger's thinking.

"We are the United States of America, the best country ... to ever exist, but right now, we are terminally ill and headed towards collapse," the letter said. "This was not a terrorist attack. It was a wake up call. Americans only pay attention to spectacles and violence. What better way to get my point across than a stunt with fireworks and explosives. ... I need to cleanse my mind of the brothers I’ve lost, and relieve myself of the burden of the lives I took."

Livelsberger expressed other grievances, including about conflicts elsewhere, domestic issues, societal issues and personal challenges, Koren said. He noted investigators continue to go through evidence found on the cellphone, and Las Vegas Sheriff Kevin McMahill said investigators have been unable to access a second phone found in the Cybertruck.

Spencer Evans, special agent in charge of the Las Vegas FBI, said Friday at the media briefing authorities have not established any firm connections between the Cybertruck explosion and the alleged terrorist attack that occurred in New Orleans only hours earlier that killed 14 people on Bourbon Street.

The only links investigators have established appeared incidental and coincidental, Evan said, adding that the suspects in both cases rented their vehicles from the same company.

Evans added that the investigation determained along with consultation with the Army that Livelsberger likely suffered from PTSD, and that investigators are aware that there were potential "family issues or personal grievances in his own life that may have been contributing factors."

Livelsberger also held no animosity toward President-elect Donald Trump, Evans said.

Authorities said they were able to identify Livelsberger's badly burned body through various methods, including family DNA and tattoos.

Just a few days before New Year’s Eve, Alicia Arritt received a text message out of the blue from her ex-boyfriend, a decorated U.S. special forces soldier named Matthew Livelsberger.

The pair hadn’t been in touch since 2022. Now, Livelsberger was asking if she was single. They exchanged a few breezy texts over the next couple days and then Livelsberger began sending photos and videos of a Tesla Cybertruck he said he had rented.

“It’s the s--t,” he wrote on New Year's Eve morning, according to messages shared with NBC News. “I feel like Batman or halo.”

“How fast is it,” she asked.

“Ungodly,” he replied.

They continued texting into the evening, with Livelsberger giving no indication that he was planning something drastic.

It wasn’t until two days later, when FBI agents showed up at Arritt’s home, that she learned the painful truth: Livelsberger, 37, had shot himself inside the Tesla seconds before it blew up in front of the Trump Hotel in Las Vegas on New Year’s Day.

“They actually asked if I wanted to watch the video of him dying,” Arritt said in an interview. “It was awful to learn about it.”

Investigators are still working to definitively determine what led Livelsberger to commit suicide. He was a master sergeant in the U.S. Army’s elite special forces unit and resident of Colorado Springs.

The man was an extreme hater against liberals and supported Trump and Elon Musk. This makes the choice to blow up a cyber truck in front of a Trump hotel even more strange and confusing.

It's worth noting that they have letters from him and it wasn't terrorism and it wasn't intended to hurt anybody, it was a publicity stunt similar to when people self-immolate in public places to bring attention to a cause. That doesn't make it right, but it does explain why nobody else was killed.

The amount of damage that could have been done with that stuff if he had used a different type of vehicle and reprocessed the fireworks could have been really bad. He had military experience and almost certainly enough training related to explosives that this was clearly an intentional choice not to go for a bigger boom.