LAS VEGAS (KLAS) — “This was not a terrorist attack, it was a wake up call,” a note found on a phone inside the Tesla Cybertruck that exploded on New Year’s Day outside the Las Vegas International Trump Hotel said, according to police.
At a news conference Friday, law enforcement officials gave additional details on the events that led up to Matthew Livelsberger, 37, driving a Tesla Cybertruck to the hotel and detonating explosive materials inside it.
Livelsberger died from a gunshot wound to the head just before the explosion, the coroner’s office ruled Thursday. LVMPD Sheriff Kevin McMahill said Livelsberger was positively identified by several things, including tattoo comparisons.
“While the body was still in the vehicle, we were unable to identify those specific tattoos until we were able to remove some of it,” McMahill said.
Additionally, the U.S. Department of Defense provided Livelsberger’s dental records to the LVMPD and the Clark County coroner’s office used both to positively identify him. Livelsberger’s family also provided DNA to the LVMPD, which also positively matched him to the body, McMahill said.
A surveillance photo showed Livelsberger in Colorado wearing a distinctive jacket, which police matched to a surveillance video in Las Vegas, law enforcement added.
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Photos provided by Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department are shown comparing the tattoos of the person found at the scene of the explosion at Trump International Hotel in Las Vegas, and those of Matthew Livelsberger. -
Photos provided by Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department show the tattoos of the person found at the scene of the explosion at Trump International Hotel in Las Vegas. -
Photos provided by Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department are shown comparing the tattoos of the person found at the scene of the explosion at Trump International Hotel in Las Vegas, and those of Matthew Livelsberger.
Investigators used video from public areas, call data records, financial records and Tesla charging station records to determine the route Livelsberger took from Colorado to Las Vegas, officials said. At no point does another person drive the vehicle.
“It’s evident that [Livelsberger] considered, planned, and thoughtfully prepared for this act alone,” FBI Special Agent In Charge Spencer Evans said.
Evans added that despite the public nature of the incident, it “ultimately appears to be a tragic case of suicide involving a heavily decorated combat veteran who was suffering with PTSD and other issues.”
Livelsberger likely suffered from PTSD and police said they were aware of potential family issues or personal grievances that might have been contributing factors, Evans said.
Law enforcement recovered two cell phones from the vehicle with data available from one as of Friday, McMahill said.
Police said as of Friday, there was a lot of data to go through on the cell phones and an additional laptop recovered, as well as outstanding search warrants, subpoenas, and interviews around the world.
A note-taking application on the phone revealed a document titled “surveillance log,” which contained “a journal of activity” started around 10 days before the bombing, LVMPD Asst. Sheriff Dori Koren, who oversees the LVMPD counter-terrorism unit, said.
In the note, police were able to identify locations on the route Livelsberger took to Las Vegas as well as activity police saw on surveillance video, such as Livelsberger purchasing firearms and camping equipment.
In the app, police found two letters, which contained a variety of “grievances and issues, some political, some personal,” Koren said.
Police shared the following excerpt from the first letter: “Fellow servicemembers, Veterans, and all Americans. TIME TO WAKE UP! We are being led by weak and feckless leadership who only serve to enrich themselves.”
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Screenshots provided by the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department show excerpts of documents found in Matthew Livelsberger devices. -
Screenshots provided by the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department show excerpts of documents found in Matthew Livelsberger devices. -
Screenshots provided by the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department show excerpts of documents found in Matthew Livelsberger devices.
Evans said Livelsberger held no animosity toward President-elect Donald Trump.
An excerpt from the second letter read: “This was not a terrorist attack, it was a wake up call. Americans only pay attention to spectacles and violence. What better way to get my point across than a stunt with fireworks and explosives? Why did I personally do it now? I needed to cleanse my mind of the brothers I’ve lost and relieve myself of the burden of the lives I took.”
Late Friday afternoon, Las Vegas Metro police released the full letters, which included a line for Americans to “rally” behind President-elect Donald Trump and Tesla CEO Elon Musk. Even with those statements in the letters, Evans said there was no indication why Livelsberger chose the Trump hotel and used a Tesla Cybertruck in the bombing as it did not appear Livelsberger disliked either man.
Law enforcement added that they were “very well aware of a podcast” involving a letter possibly sent from Livelsberger. That podcast, “The Shawn Ryan Show,” hosted by a former Navy SEAL, released an interview Friday with a former intelligence analyst who said he received an email from Livelsberger in the days before the explosion. The analyst said Livelsberger’s letter was about Chinese drones and national security.
Evans said they had not verified the validity of that email as of Friday.
Tesla engineers helped Las Vegas police extract a chip from the truck and learned that the vehicle was not in self-driving mode at any time during the incident.
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A photo provided by the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department shows Matthew Livelsberger’s wallet as it was discovered at the site of the explosion in Las Vegas. -
A photo provided by the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department shows Matthew Livelsberger’s wallet after is was recovered at the site of the explosion in Las Vegas. -
A photo provided by the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department shows Matthew Livelsberger’s phone after is was recovered at the site of the explosion in Las Vegas. -
A photo provided by the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department shows the contents of Matthew Livelsberger’s wallet, recovered at the site of the explosion in Las Vegas. -
A photo provided by the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department shows Matthew Livelsberger’s phone as it was discovered at the site of the explosion in Las Vegas. -
A photo provided by the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department shows Matthew Livelsberger’s phone as it was discovered at the site of the explosion in Las Vegas. -
A photo of a gun “almost burnt beyond recognition” found in the aftermath of the Tesla Cybertruck explosion outside of the Trump International Hotel in Las Vegas on Jan. 1, 2025. (LVMPD) -
A photo of a gun “almost burnt beyond recognition” found in the aftermath of the Tesla Cybertruck explosion outside of the Trump International Hotel in Las Vegas on Jan. 1, 2025. (LVMPD)
There is no evidence that the bombing in Las Vegas and the terrorist attack in New Orleans are connected, Evans said. The only things connecting the two events are “coincidental similarities,” he added.
Those similarities include the vehicles rented from the same company and both subjects served in the military.
“We’ve identified no telephonic or emails between the subjects,” Evans said. “No information that they knew each other, that they were assigned in the same unit, that they were ever assigned at the same place at the same time.”
He added that there was no connection between Livelsberger and “any other terrorist organization.”
Anyone with information was asked to contact the FBI at 800-CALL-FBI.
