Elon Musk has spoken out after a vehicle manufactured by his automotive company, Tesla, exploded outside the Trump International Hotel in Las Vegas. Suggesting a connection between the incident and the New Orleans attack, Musk threatened to sue media companies that claim the Cybertruck malfunctioned and "caught on fire."
On New Year's Day, a Tesla Cybertruck packed with fireworks blew up in front of the hotel, located near the Las Vegas Strip, injuring at least seven bystanders. The driver, Army soldier Matthew Livelsberger, fatally shot himself before the explosion.
Highlights
- Elon Musk said the Cybertruck prevented further damage in the Las Vegas explosion
- The vehicle that exploded outside the Trump International Hotel was manufactured by his company, Tesla.
- Musk shared a parody post that said the electric car was voted "Worst Vehicle by the National Association Of Terrorist Car Bombers."
Elon Musk made a series of posts addressing the Cybertruck explosion outside the Trump International Hotel in Las Vegas
Image credits: David Becker/Washington Post
Musk has since issued a warning to media outlets on X (formerly known as Twitter), the social media platform he owns.
The businessman responded to a post on Thursday (January 2) from conservative activist Robby Starbuck, saying that the Tesla CEO should "consider suing outlets" whose "headlines are sabotaging" the brand by making people think the Cybertruck "caught on fire."
"Maybe it's time to do so," he responded.
A Cybertruck packed with fireworks blew up in front of the hotel on New Year's Day
Image credits: KTNV Channel 13 Las Vegas
The truck was packed with firework mortars and camp fuel canisters. Among the items found inside the vehicle were a handgun at Livelsberger's feet, another firearm, a number of fireworks, a passport, a military ID, credit cards, an iPhone, and a smartwatch, Clark County Sheriff Kevin McMahill said.
Image credits: Allison Robbert/AFP/Bloomberg
Both Musk and Las Vegas officials said the explosion would have caused more damage had another vehicle been used.
"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," Musk wrote.
"The fact that this was a Cybertruck really limited the damage that occurred inside the valet because it had most of the blast go up through the truck and out," said McMahill.
The steel-sided vehicle absorbed much of the force from the explosive, which "vented out and up" instead of hitting the nearby building or more passersby, authorities said.
The Cybertruck was manufactured by Musk's automotive company, Tesla
Image credits: elonmusk
Musk and Trump are closely connected, as the richest man in the world is set to co-lead the former president's newly created Department of Government Efficiency. He also spent an estimated $250 million during the presidential campaign to support Trump, AP reported.
The South African businessman also shared a post by the parody fake news account The Babylon Bee that read, "Tesla Cybertruck Voted 'Worst Vehicle' By National Association Of Terrorist Car Bombers."
As of Friday (January 3), authorities are still investigating to determine a motive behind the explosion.
"It's not lost on us that it's in front of the Trump building, that it's a Tesla vehicle, but we don't have information at this point that definitively tells us or suggests it was because of this particular ideology," said Spencer Evans, the Las Vegas FBI's special agent in charge.
"We're not aware of any other subjects involved in this particular case," McMahill added.
Musk and authorities confirmed that the steel-sided vehicle absorbed much of the force from the explosive, preventing further damage
Image credits: elonmusk
Image credits: David Paul Morris/Bloomberg
The driver was Matthew Livelsberger, a 37-year-old highly decorated Army soldier who had recently returned from an overseas assignment in Germany and was on approved leave when he died, as per AP.
According to investigators, Livelsberger may have gotten into a fight with his wife about relationship issues before he rented the Cybertruck and bought the weapons, which he purchased legally.
Livelsberger, of Colorado Springs, served in the Green Berets, special forces who work to counter terrorism abroad. He had reportedly been in the Army since 2006, serving in Ukraine, Tajikistan, Georgia, and Congo, and deploying twice to Afghanistan.
He was awarded five Bronze Stars throughout his military career, including an Army Commendation Medal with valor and one with a valor device for courage under fire.
The vehicle was packed with firework mortars and camp fuel canisters
Image credits: Las Vegas Metropolitan Police
Livelsberger rented the Cybertruck in Denver, Colorado, on Saturday and charged it in the Colorado town of Monument the following day.
He subsequently charged the electric vehicle in three towns in New Mexico along the Interstate 40 corridor and three Arizona towns before footage showed the car on the Las Vegas Strip at about 7:30 a.m.
The Cybertruck driver, US Army soldier Matthew Livelsberger, shot himself before detonation
Image credits: Las Vegas Metropolitan Police
Image credits: elonmusk
The explosion of the vehicle occurred hours after a man, 42-year-old Shamsud-Din Bahar Jabbar, rammed a truck into a crowd in New Orleans, killing at least 14 people.
An ISIS flag was found inside the Texas man's vehicle. Jabbar was killed in a shootout with police.
On X, Musk said that both the Cybertruck and Jabbar's Ford Pickup truck had been rented from the car rental app Turo. "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.
"Both this Cybertruck and the F-150 suicide bomb in New Orleans were rented from Turo. Perhaps they are linked in some way."
Musk is set to co-lead Trump's Department of Government Efficiency in the United States
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Image credits: elonmusk
Image credits: Las Vegas Metropolitan Police
Authorities have confirmed that both vehicles were rented from the company, used by 3.5 million people in the past year. In a statement, Turo said it was "heartbroken by the violence perpetrated in New Orleans and Las Vegas," adding that both men had valid driver's licenses, clean background checks, and had served in the Army.
Investigators have found "no definitive link" between the attack and the explosion, according to FBI official Cristopher Raia. However, Raia cautioned that this analysis is not conclusive and has not ruled out a connection.
On X, the South African businessman threatened to take legal action against media outlets reporting that the vehicle "caught on fire"
Image credits: elonmusk
Police are still investigating the motive behind the explosion, but they believe that Livelsberger most likely acted alone
Image credits: Las Vegas Metropolitan Police
Investigators believe Jabbar acted alone based on interviews and reviews of phone calls, electronic devices, and social media accounts.
Both Livelsberger and Jabbar spent time at the Army base Fort Liberty —formerly known as Fort Bragg— in North Carolina. However, one of the officials who spoke to the AP said there is no overlap in the men's assignments at the base.
"He used the incident as a marketing opportunity," one critic wrote
