One particular person died and 7 others have been injured Wednesday when a Tesla Cybertruck that gave the impression to be carrying fireworks caught hearth and exploded exterior President-elect Donald Trump’s Las Vegas lodge, authorities stated.
Police block off the world exterior of Donald Trump’s Las Vegas lodge on Jan. 1, 2025.
The fireplace within the valet space of the Trump Worldwide Resort Las Vegas was reported at 8:40 a.m., a county spokesperson stated in a press release.
In keeping with a legislation enforcement official, the truck was rented by way of the Turo app and appeared to have a load of fireworks. The official spoke on situation of anonymity as a result of they weren’t licensed to talk publicly.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk stated Wednesday afternoon on X that “we now have now confirmed that the explosion was brought on by very massive fireworks and/or a bomb carried within the mattress of the rented Cybertruck and is unrelated to the car itself. All car telemetry was optimistic on the time of the explosion.”
“The entire Tesla senior staff is investigating this matter proper now,” Musk stated in an earlier publish on the platform after attending a New 12 months’s Eve occasion at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort. “We’ve never seen anything like this.”
x
We now have now confirmed that the explosion was brought on by very massive fireworks and/or a bomb carried within the mattress of the rented Cybertruck and is unrelated to the car itself.
All car telemetry was optimistic on the time of the explosion. https://t.co/HRjb87YbaJ
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) January 1, 2025
Regulation enforcement officers haven’t dominated out terrorism as a doable motive, an individual conversant in the matter stated. The particular person spoke on situation of anonymity as a result of they weren’t licensed to publicly talk about particulars of the investigation.
“I know you have a lot of questions,” Jeremy Schwartz, performing particular agent in cost for the FBI’s Las Vegas workplace, instructed reporters. “We don’t have a lot of answers.”
President Joe Biden was briefed on the explosion. The truck explosion got here hours after a driver rammed a truck right into a crowd in New Orleans’ famed French Quarter early on New 12 months’s Day, killing no less than 10 folks earlier than being shot to loss of life by police.
In Las Vegas, witness Ana Bruce, visiting from Brazil, stated she heard three explosions.
“The first one where we saw the fire, the second one, I guess, was the battery or something like that, and the third was the big one that smoked the entire area and was the moment when everyone was told to evacuate and stay away,” Bruce stated.
Her journey companion, Alcides Antunes, confirmed video he took of flames lapping the perimeters of the silver-colored car.
The 64-story lodge is simply off the Las Vegas Strip and throughout the road from the Trend Present Las Vegas shopping center.
Eric Trump, a son of the president-elect and govt vp of the Trump Group, posted concerning the hearth on the social media platform X. He praised the fireplace division and native legislation enforcement “for their swift response and professionalism.”
