To Las Vegas, Nevada
The driver suspected of causing the explosion of a Tesla Cybertruck outside the Trump International Hotel in Las Vegas at 8:40 a.m. Wednesday has been identified as Matthew Livelsberger, an active-duty soldier in the U.S. Army. According to ABC News, he was on leave at the time of the incident and had rented the vehicle through the Turo app. The suspect’s autopsy revealed he had a gunshot wound to the head. “We discovered that the individual had suffered a gunshot wound to the head before the vehicle exploded,” said Kevin McMahill,
The Tesla Cybertruck exploded 15 to 20 seconds after parking in the valet area of the hotel, lightly injuring seven bystanders and causing the death of the driver. A video released by police shows that the truck was carrying fireworks-type mortars, cans of gasoline and gas canisters. Authorities believe the explosion was intentional but call the incident isolated, with no ongoing threat to the Las Vegas community.
Driver profile
A career military and special forces member, Matthew Livelsberger was stationed at Fort Liberty and served in Afghanistan. “At this point, there is no definitive link between the attack here in New Orleans and the attack in Las Vegas,” Christopher Raia of the FBI said Thursday morning at a news conference. According to ABC, the military is investigating whether the two drivers may have crossed paths at Fort Liberty or in Afghanistan, although no evidence suggests they were assigned together or knew each other.
Matthew Livelsberger’s wife, interviewed in Colorado Springs, said he left the family home after an argument over Christmas, but she did not believe he meant to hurt anyone. Matthew Livelsberger was an outspoken supporter of Donald Trump. Investigators are also looking into whether his time at Fort Liberty or Afghanistan could reveal connections to other individuals linked to similar acts.
-An ongoing investigation
The FBI and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) are searching Matthew Livelsberger’s Colorado Springs home to better understand his motives. Federal authorities are exploring the possibility of a terrorist act, but no definitive proof has yet been found. Weapons found damaged in the vehicle and videos of the charging stations provided by Tesla offer additional leads for the investigation.
Also read, our file on the United States
Tesla CEO Elon Musk confirmed on X that the explosion was caused by fireworks or a bomb carried in the Cybertruck and not a battery problem. According to an official cited by ABC, it was not an explosion linked to a lithium-ion battery, a theory initially put forward on social networks.
