January 1, 2025 Police block roads after a vehicle exploded in front of the Trump International Hotel in Las Vegas. Noble Brigham/Las Vegas Review-Journal/Tribune News Service via Getty Images Local authorities and the FBI are investigating a Tesla Cybertruck explosion outside the Trump International Hotel in Las Vegas that left one person dead on Wednesday morning. The driver of the car was killed in the blast and at least seven people who were nearby sustained minor injuries, officials said. On Thursday, authorities identified the suspect as Matthew Livelsberger, a 37-year-old resident of Colorado Springs, Colorado. The truck had pulled up to the hotel’s front lobby doors around 8:40 a.m., according to officials, and the vehicle soon began smoking from the inside. Seconds later, the car exploded, sending shrapnel flying. In footage circulating on social media, it appeared that fireworks were also coming from the burned-out car. In a video posted on X, a purported guest posted a clip from inside the hotel that shows the truck ablaze and what sounds like numerous fireworks going off. According to the Guardian, Livelsberger served 19 years in the military, including a stint at the same base where Shamsud-Din Jabbar, the suspect in the New Orleans terror attack the same day, was stationed. Like Jabbar, Livelsberger also rented the vehicle used in the incident on the Turo app; authorities are investigating whether there is a link between the two suspects and incidents. Elon Musk, the CEO of Tesla and a close adviser to President-elect Donald Trump, claimed 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,” he wrote on X, later claiming that “law enforcement currently believes [the explosion] was most likely intentional.” The incident is reportedly being investigated as a possible terrorist act, according to CNN. The Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department did not immediately respond to Rolling Stone’s request for comment. Special agent Jeremy Schwartz said the FBI was deploying additional resources to “figure out exactly what happened,” noting there were several unanswered questions. “Obviously, a Cybertruck, the Trump Hotel — there’s lots of questions that we have to answer as we move forward,” Sheriff Kevin McMahill said at a press conference. Editor’s picks