Breaking: Tesla Cybertruck Explodes Outside Trump Hotel—Shocking Terrorist Attack or Something Else?

A Tesla Cybertruck exploded and caught fire Wednesday morning right outside the door to the Trump International Hotel in Las Vegas, killing one person inside and wounding many people outside, according to local officials. Three senior law enforcement officials informed on the situation told NBC News that the strange detonation is being examined as a potential terrorist strike. A motive has yet to be determined.

The incident occurred hours after a driver in a rented pickup truck carrying an ISIS flag slammed into New Year’s Eve revelers on Bourbon Street in New Orleans, killing at least 15 people and wounding more than 30 others before being shot dead by police.

According to Clark County/Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Sheriff Kevin McMahill, the pickup truck and Tesla involved in the Las Vegas explosion were both hired from the same firm, Turo. “I don’t know,” McMahill responded during a news conference when asked if the two instances were related. “But we are investigating whether there is any connectivity,” Turo states, stating that it fully cooperates with investigators. “We don’t consider that either renter responsible for the Las Vegas and New Orleans attacks had a criminal background that would have marked them as a security threat,” according to the business. McMahill claimed officials knew the Tesla was rented in Colorado but refused to reveal the identity of the individual killed in the fire.

“We do know who rented this truck,” he stated, adding that there is no connection to ISIS or any other terrorist group. “We believe this is an isolated incident,” explained Jeremy Schwartz, the FBI’s acting special agent in charge of the inquiry. McMahill claimed investigators could monitor the Tesla’s path to Las Vegas with the help of CEO Elon Musk, who supplied footage of the Cybertruck at Tesla charging stations and opened the truck after it auto-locked after the explosion. The Tesla landed in Las Vegas around 7:30 a.m. and detonated an hour later, just 15 seconds after reaching the hotel, according to the sheriff. Earlier, Musk, a prominent Trump adviser, stressed to X that the explosion had nothing to do with the car.

“We have since learned that the explosion was caused by huge fireworks and/or a bomb carried in the bed of the rented Cybertruck and is unrelated to the vehicle itself,” Musk informed the press. “All vehicle telemetry was positive at the time of the explosion.” McMahill verified that the truck’s rear was loaded with fuel canisters and big fireworks mortars.

“I’m not sure how they were started,” the sheriff stated. “We have not been able to process the car yet. The Trump International Hotel Las Vegas is owned by the Trump Organization and Phil Ruffin, an American billionaire. In videos of the lobby, loud explosions can be heard as the fire spreads just past the hotel’s entryway, which is emblazoned with the initial “T” for Trump. Mary Lescano Paguada, 43, who was on vacation in Las Vegas from San Antonio to celebrate the new year at the hotel, reported hearing an explosion early Wednesday. She didn’t worry about it until she saw law enforcement officials respond. Paguada stated that as she and her husband entered the lobby, they heard shouting and were urged by hotel workers to leave and “don’t breathe the smoke.” Do not remain.

During his second term, Trump appointed Musk to co-lead the Department of Government Efficiency, an advisory body tasked with reducing federal regulations and expenditures. According to campaign finance reports, Musk, the world’s wealthiest individual, gave $277 million to Trump’s and other GOP candidates’ campaigns.