Perhaps a malfunction, but more likely political economic terrorism, based on the astronomically unlikely combination of the vehicle and the venue. We shall see.
Guests of the hotel were immediately evacuated and transferred to the Resorts World Hotel, according to the sheriff.
Tesla founder Elon Musk later said that explosives were discovered inside the rented vehicle.
“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 wrote in a post on the X social media platform. “All vehicle telemetry was positive at the time of the explosion.”
Gas canisters and large fireworks mortars were found in the vehicle, authorities confirmed in a Wednesday evening press conference.
The sheriff also noted that the walls of the electric vehicle remained fully intact during the explosion and that damage to the surrounding area was limited because of “the fact that this was a Cybertruck.”
The front glass doors of the Trump hotel “were not even broken,” McMahill said.
McMahill said the vehicle was rented in Colorado, arrived in Las Vegas at 7:30 a.m., and “went up and down” Las Vegas Boulevard before finally parking at the Trump Hotel. It was parked for 15–20 seconds before it exploded.
Authorities know the identity of the person who rented the Cybertruck and declined to release details.
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The Intelligence Community
The moment a Tesla Cybertruck blew up at Trump Tower in Las Vegas, NV at 8:40 a.m. today. Police confirm the driver has been killed, and seven others injured. The Tesla driver has not yet been identified.
Not seeing any indications this is terrorism-related at this point, but with the attack in New Orleans, LA this morning that killed 15 and injured 30, it’s something authorities are looking into.
You can see my post on the New Orleans incident at https://lnkd.in/gPTpdVau.
P.S. – Associated Press published that both the Tesla Cybertruck in Las Vegas and the truck in New Orleans were both reserved using the Turo app. (https://lnkd.in/gDXJu8CT)
Does that mean they’re connected? Hopefully that is being explored.
