The investigation continues on Thursday, January 2, the day after the explosion of a Cybertruck vehicle in front of the Trump International Hotel in Las Vegas, in the state of Nevada (United States). The explosion of the Tesla pick-up owned by X and SpaceX director Elon Musk left one person dead and seven lightly injured.
It comes in parallel with an attack which left at least 15 dead in New Orleans, and as Elon Musk’s upcoming arrival at the Ministry of “Government Effectiveness” approaches. in the new administration of President-elect Donald Trump. Franceinfo looks back at what we know about the facts and the first elements of the investigation.
Tesla pickup truck exploded outside hotel entrance
The explosion took place Wednesday morning in front of the entrance to the Trump International Hotel. Images posted on social media show a gray Cybertruck parked in front of the hotel, exploding in a huge cloud of smoke. Las Vegas police were informed of the explosion around 8:40 a.m. (5:40 p.m. in Paris), reports the New York Times. According to Las Vegas Sheriff Kevin McMahill, the vehicle “stopped in front of the last entrance doors of the hotel” before the explosion.
Several cans of gasoline and “large fireworks mortars” were found in the back of the pickup, the Las Vegas sheriff said. “Most of the explosion passed through the [véhicule] from the top and came out. (…) The glass doors of the Trump hotel were not even broken by the explosion”he told the press. According to Kevin McMahill, “the fact that it was a Cybertruck really limited the damage.”
Billionaire Elon Musk, boss of Tesla, also declared on “the explosion was caused by very large fireworks and/or a bomb carried in the back of the rented Cybertruck, and is not related to the vehicle itself.” Near the New York Times, one witness, Oscar Terol, described a vehicle on fire and saw many colors during the explosion, which would characterize the presence of fireworks.
The explosion left one dead and seven lightly injured.
According to the Las Vegas sheriff, the explosion left one person dead. The victim is the driver, alone in the Tesla vehicle at the time of the incident. Seven other people were affected and are suffering from “minor injuries”, said Kevin McMahill.
Wednesday afternoon, the driver’s body was still present on board the pickup, reports the New York Times. The authorities were still in charge of his identification.
-The vehicle was rented in the State of Colorado
The Tesla pickup was rented in the state of Colorado using the Turo app. According to Sheriff Kevin McMahill, videos of several Tesla charging stations helped obtain this information. The images were transmitted to the authorities by Elon Musk directly, he said. The identity of the person who rented the vehicle is now known, but the authorities do not wish to release this information at this stage.
The Cybertruck arrived in Las Vegas around 7:30 a.m. (4:40 p.m. in Paris), added Kevin McMahill. He drove along Las Vegas Boulevard before parking in front of the hotel. The explosion occurred 15 to 20 seconds after the vehicle parked, the Associated Press reports.
The Turo app, which was used to rent the pickup, was also used to rent the vehicle involved in the car-ramming attack in New Orleans. “We do not believe that the customers involved in the Las Vegas and New Orleans attacks had criminal histories that would have identified them as a security threat,” a Turo spokesperson said in a statement.
An “isolated event” at this stage
At this stage of the investigation, the authorities “believe this is an isolated incident”, said Kevin McMahill. No link has yet been established between the facts and the attack in New Orleans, but the investigation is continuing, he said. “There is no ISIS flag visible, as was the case in New Orleans”he added. On Wednesday evening, President Joe Biden confirmed that authorities were continuing to investigate whether there was “some possible connection” between the two events.
Investigators are also looking into possible political motivations. “It’s a Tesla pickup, and we know Elon Musk works with President-elect Trump. It’s also a Trump Tower, a souligné Kevin McMahill. So there are clearly reasons for concern and we continue to look into the matter.“
