A Tesla Cybertruck, apparently carrying fireworks, ignited and exploded outside President-elect Donald Trump’s Las Vegas hotel on Wednesday, resulting in one fatality and seven injuries, authorities reported.
Las Vegas Metropolitan Police and Clark County Fire Department officials announced at a press conference that one person perished within the vehicle, and recovery efforts were underway. Seven bystanders sustained minor injuries; several were hospitalized.
A county spokesperson stated that the fire in the hotel’s valet area was reported at 8:40 a.m.
According to a law enforcement official speaking anonymously due to authorization restrictions, the truck, rented through the Turo app, contained what appeared to be fireworks.
A source familiar with the investigation, also speaking anonymously, confirmed that law enforcement hasn’t ruled out terrorism as a possible motive.
“I know you have a lot of questions,” FBI Las Vegas acting Special Agent in Charge Jeremy Schwartz told reporters. “We don’t have a lot of answers.”
President Joe Biden received a briefing on the incident. The explosion followed a New Year’s Day incident in New Orleans where a driver rammed a truck into a crowd, causing at least 10 deaths before being fatally shot by police.
“The whole Tesla senior team is investigating this matter right now,” Tesla CEO Elon Musk stated on X, adding: “We’ve never seen anything like this.”
Ana Bruce, a visitor from Brazil, reported hearing 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 described.
Her travel companion, Alcides Antunes, provided video footage showing flames engulfing the silver vehicle.
The 64-story hotel is located off the Las Vegas Strip, across from the Fashion Show Las Vegas mall.
Eric Trump, son of the president-elect and executive vice president of the Trump Organization, expressed his appreciation to the fire department and law enforcement on X for their “swift response and professionalism.”
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Associated Press writers Colleen Long and Zach Miller in Washington contributed to this report.
