The Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department expressed gratitude towards Tesla CEO Elon Musk for his help in the investigation of the Tesla Cybertruck explosion outside the Trump International Hotel on New Year’s Day.
Business Insider reports that on Wednesday, Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department (LVMPD) Sheriff Kevin McMahill publicly thanked Elon Musk, the CEO of Tesla, for his assistance in the investigation of the Tesla Cybertruck explosion that occurred outside the Trump International Hotel in Las Vegas on New Year’s Day. The incident, which took place at 8:40 a.m. local time, resulted in one fatality and seven injuries.
During a press conference, Sheriff McMahill specifically acknowledged Musk’s contributions to the investigation, stating, “He gave us quite a bit of additional information in regards to how the vehicle was locked after it exploded due to the nature of the force from the explosion as well as being able to capture all of the video from Tesla charging stations across the country, he sent that directly to us so I appreciate his help on that.”
The explosion, which is currently under investigation by the FBI to determine if it was an act of terrorism, originated from the Cybertruck’s cargo bed. According to McMahill, the bed contained gasoline canisters, fuel canisters, and “larger mortar fireworks.” The driver, who was killed in the explosion, has been identified as active duty Green Beret Matthew Livelsberger.
Elon Musk, in an X post on the day of the incident, echoed the sheriff’s remarks, stating, “The evil knuckleheads picked the wrong vehicle for a terrorist attack. Cybertruck actually contained the explosion and directed the blast upwards.” He further emphasized that not even the glass doors of the hotel lobby were broken due to the Cybertruck’s strength.
The LVMPD released video footage of the exploded Cybertruck, which showed the vehicle’s cargo bed severely damaged by the blast. However, the hull of the Cybertruck appeared to be largely intact. Sheriff McMahill credited the limited damage inside the valet area to the Cybertruck’s robust construction, stating, “The fact that this was a Cybertruck really limited the damage that occurred inside of the valet because it had most of the blast go up through the truck and out.”
The Las Vegas incident occurred just hours after a separate attack in New Orleans, where a driver plowed into a crowd using a rented Ford pickup truck, resulting in at least 15 fatalities. Both vehicles were rented via Turo, the “Airbnb of cars.”
Following the explosion, Musk announced on X that the entire Tesla senior team was investigating the matter. He later clarified that the explosion was caused by “very large fireworks and/or a bomb carried in the bed of the rented Cybertruck” and was unrelated to the vehicle itself. Musk also noted that all vehicle telemetry was positive at the time of the explosion.
Read more at Business Insider here.
Lucas Nolan is a reporter for Breitbart News covering issues of free speech and online censorship.
