LAS VEGAS (NewsNation) — Firework mortars and camping fuel canisters were found in the back of the Tesla Cybertruck that exploded outside the Las Vegas Trump International Hotel on Wednesday.
The blast killed one person and injured seven others, sparking an intense investigation into possible terrorism.
The act was intentional, police said, adding that video shows the vehicle parked next to the hotel’s front doors as it explodes into flames.
The driver inside the Cybertruck, identified Thursday as Matthew Alan Livelsberger, 37, of Colorado Springs, Colorado, died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound immediately prior to the explosion, according to Las Vegas police and the Clark County coroner.
Police did not find any devices that would have been used to ignite the explosion in the truck and are unsure at this time how it ignited, authorities said.
According to Las Vegas police, the investigation into the explosion remains ongoing.
Police identify driver of Cybertruck
Police first identified Livelsberger as the renter of the Cybertruck before later confirming he was also its driver.
Livelsberger is an active-duty soldier, an Army spokesperson told NewsNation.
Las Vegas police and the FBI initially said they were waiting on DNA or medical records to have 100% confirmation of the subject’s identity.
Officials said the person in the truck was “burned beyond recognition.” The preliminary identification was based on a military ID, passport and credit cards found in the vehicle as well as photos of Livelsberger captured on the way to Las Vegas and remnants of tattoos on the body.
Livelsberger enlisted as an 18X and served in active duty from January 2006 to March 2011, according to the spokesperson. He then joined the National Guard from March 2011 through July 2012. After that, Livelsberger was in the Army Reserve until December 2012, when he entered active duty as an Army Special Operations soldier.
“Livelsberger was assigned to the (U.S. Army Special Operations Command) and on approved leave at the time of his death. USASOC is in full cooperation with federal and state law enforcement agencies, but as a matter of policy, will not comment on ongoing investigations,” the spokesperson said.
Livelsberger had no criminal record.
A law enforcement official told NewsNation that Livelsberger served at the same military base as Shamsud-Din Jabbar — the man suspected of intentionally driving a truck into a crowd in New Orleans’ famed French Quarter, killing at least 14 people. That crash is being investigated as a terrorist attack, and police believe the driver was not acting alone.
However, police say there is no evidence the two men were stationed at Fort Bragg at the same time. Both also served in Afghanistan in 2009, but authorities said they have yet to uncover anything that would indicate they were serving in the same location or unit.
Cybertruck arrived in Vegas one hour before blast
Clark County firefighters and Las Vegas Metropolitan Police responded to the explosion and fire around 8:40 a.m. in the 2000 block of Fashion Show Drive, across from Fashion Show Mall and just west of the Las Vegas Strip.
Police tracked the truck through cameras at Tesla charging stations and found that it arrived in Las Vegas around 7:30 a.m. The truck then drove up and down Las Vegas Boulevard for about an hour before pulling into the Trump Hotel entrance. The truck sat in front of the hotel for about 15 to 20 seconds before it exploded, Sheriff Kevin McMahill said.
The blast went upwards, so the hotel’s glass doors did not break.
Both the Tesla Cybertruck that exploded in Las Vegas and the pickup truck used in New Orleans were rented from Turo, authorities said.
FBI Acting Special Agent-In-Charge Jeremy Schwartz said the car explosion was an isolated incident and that there is no threat to the public.
“We don’t believe there’s any other danger to the community right now. Over the next few hours and days, we will continue to do our best to research as much as we can and get to the bottom of this, and we won’t stop until we’re 100% certain as to what happened and why,” Schwartz said.
Investigators said they have not found anything to indicate Livelsberger had any connection to Las Vegas beyond a stay at a local hotel years ago.
Is there a link to the New Orleans truck attack?
The FBI was investigating a possible connection between the truck attacks in New Orleans and Las Vegas. However, officials said Thursday that there is “no definitive link” between the attacks.
So far, authorities said they have yet to uncover a link. Las Vegas police did say they are not ruling anything in or out at this time when it comes to motive, planning or additional suspects.
Retired FBI profiler Mary Ellen O’Toole told NewsNation’s “Morning in America” on Wednesday that agents needed evidence, such as communication by phone, internet or in-person meeting, to confirm a link.
“They’ll be looking for any kind of communication or transfer of information. Anything that would put them together to indicate that they influenced one another, or that their plans were more definitive, and they actually planned that they would both carry out their plans on New Year’s Day,” she said.
In a statement, Turo said it was working with authorities.
“We do not believe that either renter involved in the Las Vegas and New Orleans attacks had a criminal background that would have identified them as a security threat,” the statement said.
Musk: Explosion was caused by fireworks or bomb
Tesla founder Elon Musk, who is working with the FBI, said Wednesday afternoon on X that “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. All vehicle telemetry was positive at the time of the explosion.”
In an earlier post on the platform, Musk said that his entire senior term was investigating the explosion, adding, “We’ve never seen anything like this.”
Musk suggested that the explosion might also be an act of terrorism, noting that the truck involved was rented through the same app used in the New Orleans attack. However, the FBI has not confirmed this theory.
Officials in Los Vegas said that they are still sifting through debris, but current evidence indicates the components of the explosion included consumer fireworks, fuel enhancers and exploding targets widely available at sporting goods stores. They also noted that two guns found in the car were purchased legally.
What is Turo?
The cars in both the Las Vegas explosion and the attack in New Orleans were rented on the app Turo, authorities say.
Turo is a peer-to-peer car-sharing marketplace, often described as the Airbnb for cars. It allows private car owners to rent out their vehicles by listing them on the platform, where they can set rental prices, availability and specific guidelines.
Renters can browse local options, choose a vehicle that suits their needs and complete the transaction securely through Turo’s system.
NewsNation local affiliate KLAS and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
