A dramatic incident involving Tesla's latest vehicle model disrupts New Year's Day celebrations at a prominent Las Vegas landmark.
According to AP News, a Tesla Cybertruck carrying what appeared to be fireworks exploded outside President-elect Donald Trump's Las Vegas hotel on Wednesday, resulting in one death and seven injuries.
The incident unfolded at 8:40 a.m. in the valet area of the Trump International Hotel Las Vegas. Las Vegas Metropolitan Police and Clark County Fire Department officials confirmed the fatality occurred inside the futuristic-looking pickup truck, with emergency responders working to retrieve the body. Several of the seven injured individuals received hospital treatment for minor injuries.
Law enforcement sources revealed the Cybertruck was obtained through the Turo car-sharing platform. The vehicle contained what investigators believe to be a substantial quantity of fireworks, though the exact nature of the explosive materials remains under investigation.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk, who had attended Trump's New Year's Eve celebration at Mar-a-Lago, addressed the incident on social media platform X. He emphasized that Tesla's senior team was conducting a thorough investigation into the unprecedented event.
Musk stated 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. All vehicle telemetry was positive at the time of the explosion.
Brazilian tourist Ana Bruce provided firsthand testimony of the incident, describing a sequence of three distinct explosions. The initial blast ignited the fire, followed by what witnesses suspected was a battery-related explosion, culminating in a major detonation that filled the area with smoke and prompted immediate evacuation orders.
The 64-story Trump International Hotel, situated near the Las Vegas Strip and opposite the Fashion Show Las Vegas shopping mall, became the center of an extensive emergency response operation. Eric Trump, executive vice president of the Trump Organization, acknowledged the swift action of first responders on social media.
The incident has drawn heightened attention from federal authorities, with FBI Acting Special Agent Jeremy Schwartz confirming an ongoing investigation. Law enforcement officials, speaking anonymously, have not dismissed terrorism as a potential motive.
The explosion coincided with another serious incident in New Orleans, where a separate vehicle attack in the French Quarter resulted in 15 fatalities. The driver in that case was fatally shot by police, and investigators are treating it as a terrorist act involving multiple conspirators.
President Biden received immediate briefings on both situations as federal and local authorities coordinated their responses to these New Year's Day security incidents. The Las Vegas Metropolitan Police maintains an active presence at the scene while investigators work to piece together the sequence of events leading to the Cybertruck explosion.
The fatal Cybertruck explosion at Trump International Hotel Las Vegas has raised significant questions about vehicle security and public safety measures. The incident, resulting in one death and seven injuries, occurred when a rented Tesla Cybertruck containing fireworks or explosive materials detonated in the hotel's valet area.
As federal investigators, including the FBI, pursue multiple angles, including potential terrorism, the case has become intertwined with broader national security concerns following a deadly vehicle attack in New Orleans on the same day.
