LAS VEGAS — One person was killed and at least seven people were injured after a Tesla Cybertruck exploded outside the Trump International Hotel in Las Vegas on Wednesday morning, authorities said, and officials were investigating any possible links to an earlier attack on a crowd in New Orleans.
Sheriff Kevin McMahill of the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department said during a news conference that authorities “believe this to be an isolated incident” but had not yet ruled out a connection to the Wednesday morning attack in New Orleans that killed at least 15 people.
McMahill said the authorities had found gas canisters, camp fuel canisters and large firework mortars in the back of the truck. It was unclear how they had been ignited, McMahill said.
"There is no further threat to the community," McMahill said. As of Wednesday afternoon, there was no indication the explosion was connected to the Islamic State group, which President Joe Biden said inspired the New Orleans attack, but the investigation remains ongoing, he said.
At a news conference Wednesday, Jeremy Schwartz, the acting FBI special agent in charge in Las Vegas, said the agency was investigating whether the explosion "was an act of terrorism or not."
'I know everybody's interested in that word and trying to see if we can say, 'Hey this is a terrorist attack,'" Schwartz said. "That is our goal, and that’s what we're trying to do."
The Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department received a report of an explosion around 8.40am at the Trump hotel.
Elon Musk, Tesla's CEO, said in a statement on his social media platform, X, formerly Twitter, that "the explosion was caused by very large fireworks and/or a bomb carried in the bed of the rented Cybertruck" and said the vehicle was functioning properly.
Police were told that a 2024 Cybertruck "pulled up to the last entrance doors of the hotel," McMahill said earlier at a news conference.
The driver was the only person in the truck, McMahill said, and was killed inside the vehicle. At least seven others were reported to have sustained minor injuries.
The person's body remained in the truck Wednesday afternoon, McMahill said, and the authorities were working on identification.
Authorities said the truck had been rented in Colorado using Turo, the same car rental app used in the New Orleans attack. Authorities had been able to trace the car back to Colorado using video footage captured at charging stations, McMahill said.
McMahill said authorities have identified the person who rented the truck but are not releasing their name.
The truck arrived in Las Vegas around 7.30am, McMahill said, and went up and down Las Vegas Boulevard before immediately pulling into the Trump Towers.
In a statement, a Turo spokesperson said the company is working with the authorities as they investigate both incidents.
"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 spokesperson said in the statement.
Videos posted to social media showed what appeared to be a Tesla Cybertruck engulfed in flames just outside a hotel’s lobby entrance doors. Other social media posts showed what appeared to be a line of people being led out of the building.
"Earlier today, a reported electric vehicle fire occurred in the porte cochère of Trump Las Vegas," Eric Trump, President-elect Donald Trump's son and a leader of the Trump Organization, said in a statement on X. "The safety and well-being of our guests and staff remain our top priority."
The same message was posted by the Trump Las Vegas' social media account. People who were staying at the hotel said they were evacuated because of the fire.
Tesla did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Oscar Terol, who was visiting the United States from Barcelona, Spain, said he was walking toward the hotel entrance with his wife when he stopped at a food cart right before the explosion occurred. “Those 10 seconds were the difference,” he said.
He and his wife stumbled backward and Terol saw a vehicle with flames and an array of colours shooting out of it that he assumed were fireworks.
Todd Hansen was on the 27th floor of the hotel when he said he heard a series of loud popping sounds. He took the elevator down to a waiting area, where he saw smoke and sprinklers spraying in the driveway outside the hotel entrance.
"The elevator area was full of people," Hansen said. "They would not let you out of the elevator area and into the lobby." He went back to his room to alert his wife, and they were both evacuated when they returned downstairs, he added.
Shir Poli, of San Antonio, said that he had noticed a gas-like smell on the floor and elevator. He managed to take his luggage with him as evacuations were underway.
Kerri Ford, of Wisconsin, said she had left her room for a cup of coffee when she was told to leave the building. She was set to be married Wednesday afternoon, and her wedding dress and marriage license were left in the room.
"We didn't know there was anything going on," Ford said. "We just happened to come down for coffee and they’re like, 'You have to evacuate.'"
The incident comes as Musk has cultivated a close and highly public relationship with Donald Trump. Musk has been using a cottage at Mar-a-Lago. In November, Trump tapped the tech billionaire to help lead a new Department of Government Efficiency.
And federal filings revealed in December showed that Musk had spent more than $250 million in the final months of the presidential campaign to help Trump win the White House.
The Trump hotel in Las Vegas, on Fashion Show Drive, has nearly 1,300 suites and is 64 stories, according to the Trump Hotels website.
This article originally appeared in <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2025/01/01/us/car-fire-trump-hotel-las-vegas.html">The New York Times</a>.
