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Las Vegas blast: Police believe Tesla driver shot himself

Published January 1, 2025last updated January 2, 2025

At least one person has died and seven others wounded after a Tesla Cybertruck exploded outside a hotel owned by Donald Trump in Las Vegas, police said. Media reports indicate the driver was an active duty soldier.

https://p.dw.com/p/4ok23
Tesla Cybertruck in flames in front of Trump Hotel
A Tesla Cybertruck exploded at the entrance of the Trump International Hotel building in Las Vegas in the western US state of NevadaImage: Alcides Antunes/via REUTERS

The man inside a Tesla Cybertruck that exploded in Las Vegas had suffered a gunshot to the head, officials said on Thursday.

The vehicle caught fire outside of a hotel belonging to US President-elect Donald Trump in the city in the western state of Nevada on Wednesday.

The US media reported that the driver was an active-duty Green Beret, a member of a special forces unit in the US Army.

Clark County Sheriff Kevin McMahill at press conference
Police said they believed that the man in the Tesla Cybertruck that exploded in Las Vegas shot himself in the head before the blastImage: Sam Morris/Las Vegas Review-Journal/AP/picture alliance

What did police say on Thursday?

Officials said that they believed the gunshot was self-inflicted.

The FBI has yet to find an explanation for the driver's actions. 

"The motivation at this point is unknown," FBI Special Agent Spencer Evans told reporters.

The bureau also did not have information that would "definitively" indicate that the incident was driven by any particular ideology.

Authorities continued to investigate the blast as a potential act of terrorism.

New Orleans, then Las Vegas: What's going on in the US?

Both the Tesla Cybertruck and a a vehicle used in a deadly attack in New Orleans were rented through the car-sharing app Turo.

Also on Thursday, the FBI said that it saw no definitive link between the explosion in Las Vegas and the attack in New Orleans.

Truck hit by 'large explosion' — sheriff

The vehicle pulled up to the hotel's glass entrance before a "large explosion," Las Vegas Sheriff Kevin McMahill said at a press conference.

McMahill said that there was "one deceased individual" inside the vehicle, while seven people had sustained minor injuries.

He said that the hotel had been evacuated.

Smoke near Trump Tower, Las Vegas, Nevada
A Tesla Cybertruck exploded in flames at the Trump International Hotel in Las VegasImage: Jeffrey Miller/REUTERS

Tesla CEO Elon Musk said in a post on X that the explosion was "unrelated" to the vehicle.

"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 an earlier post, Musk said that the firm was investigating the incident.

Musk later posted the incident appeared "likely to be an act of terrorism. Both this Cybertruck and the F-150 suicide bomb in New Orleans were rented from Turo. Perhaps they are linked in some way."

The White House said that President Joe Biden had been informed of the explosion and told his team to offer federal assistance.

sdi/dj (Reuters, AFP, AP)

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