A Tesla Cybertruck pulled up to the glass entrance doors of Trump International Hotel Las Vegas on New Year’s Day, began emitting smoke and then exploded, according to authorities.
Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department Sheriff Kevin McMahill said in a media briefing that one individual in the car died and seven others sustained injuries. McMahill added that authorities were investigating “a number of leads.”
He also acknowledged the alleged terror attack in New Orleans early on New Year’s Day, during which a driver rammed into a crowd, killing at least 10 people. Law enforcement later found suspected improvised explosive devices in the city.
McMahill said local authorities were searching Las Vegas for any “secondary devices,” adding that “…there does not appear to be any further threat to our community here, now.”
What caused the Cybertruck to explode?
The cause of the Cybertruck’s explosion outside of the Trump hotel was not immediately confirmed by authorities.
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Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla, said the explosion was caused by “fireworks and/or a bomb in the bed of the rented cybertruck” in an X post Wednesday. Earlier, Musk posted on X that the “whole senior Tesla team” was investigating the matter.
“We’ve never seen anything like this,” he wrote.
Musk is a close adviser to President-elect Donald Trump, as well as one of his biggest donors. Musk gave at least $277 million to Trump and other Republicans during the 2024 election cycle, according to The Washington Post.
The Cybertruck has been plagued by recalls this year. In December, 700,000 Tesla vehicles, including certain Cybertrucks, were affected by a recall related to a tire pressure warning light. The problem could cause users to unknowingly drive on low-pressure tires. Other recall notices involved glitches with the windshield wiper, rearview display, and accelerator pedal.
UPDATE: Jan. 1, 2025, 4:17 p.m. PST This story has been updated to correct the number of Cybertrucks affected by a December recall. The tire pressure warning recall applied to 700,000 Tesla vehicles overall, including certain Cybertrucks.
