A Tesla Cybertruck exploded in flames outside the Trump International Hotel Las Vegas on Wednesday, killing the driver and injuring seven other people, and the FBI was investigating whether the explosion was an act of terrorism, officials said.
Videos taken by witnesses inside and outside the hotel showed the vehicle exploding and flames coming out of it, while it was outside the hotel.
The incident occurred just hours after a man drove a truck into a crowd of New Year’s Day revelers in New Orleans, killing 15 people.
The Trump International Hotel in Las Vegas is part of the Trump Organization, the company of President-elect Donald Trump, who will return to the White House on January 20.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk was a key supporter of Trump in his 2024 presidential campaign and is also an adviser to the incoming president.
“Obviously, a Cybertruck, the Trump hotel — there are a lot of questions we have to answer,” Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department Sheriff Kevin McMahill said at an afternoon news conference.
FBI Special Agent in Charge Jeremy Schwartz later told reporters that it was still unclear whether the explosion was an act of terrorism. “I know everyone is interested in that word and trying to see if we can say, ‘Hey, this is a terrorist attack.’ That’s our goal and that’s what we’re trying to do,” Schwartz said.
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.
Musk said the explosion was not related 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 and its transmission to a central source for further analysis.
One person was found dead inside the 2024 Cybertruck and seven people suffered minor injuries from the explosion, McMahill said. He added that both the Cybertruck and the vehicle used in the New Orleans attack had been rented through the car-sharing service Turo.
A Turo spokesperson said the company did not believe any of the renters of the vehicles involved in the Las Vegas and New Orleans attacks had criminal backgrounds that would have identified them as a security threat.
“We are actively cooperating with law enforcement authorities as they investigate both incidents,” the spokesperson added.
McMahill said the Cybertruck stopped at the Trump building at 8:40 a.m. local time. He said police were aware of the New Orleans attack that occurred earlier Wednesday. The FBI said a possible explosive device was found in the vehicle used in the New Orleans attack.
Las Vegas firefighters responded four minutes after the vehicle fire was reported and extinguished it. Two of the injured were taken to hospitals with minor injuries. The Trump Hotel was evacuated after the incident and most visitors were moved to another hotel.
Eric Trump, executive vice president of the Trump Organization and son of President-elect Trump, posted about the incident on X. “Earlier today, it was reported that an electric vehicle fire broke out at the car door from Trump Las Vegas,” he wrote, referring to the building’s covered entrance area.
