Las Vegas police say Cybertruck had fuel containers, large fireworks mortars

A Tesla Cybertruck that exploded in front of Trump International Hotel Las Vegasthat killed one person and injured seven others, contained containers of gasoline and camping fuel, as well as large fireworks mortars, according to authorities.

las vegas sheriff Kevin McMahill said during a news conference Wednesday that investigators know who rented the Cybertruck, which was purchased in Colorado, although they are not prepared to identify that person without 100% certainty.

McMahill also said investigators were able to track the truck through Tesla charging stations. License plate readers in Las Vegas first spotted the vehicle around 7:30 a.m., and McMahill said it traveled down Las Vegas Boulevard before stopping in the valet area of ​​the Trump hotel.

Within 15 or 20 seconds of arriving at the hotel, the sheriff added, the vehicle exploded.

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1 dead and 7 injured after Tesla Cybertruck catches fire outside Trump hotel in Las Vegas (Getty Images/Alcides Antunes)

During the news conference, the sheriff showed video of the truck bed, which showed it was filled with gas cans, camping fuel cans and large fireworks mortars.

But the sheriff also pointed out the exterior of the truck and how it was still completely intact after the explosion.

“The fact that it was a Cybertruck really limited the damage that occurred inside the valet because most of the explosion went through the truck and out,” McMahill said. “In fact, if you watch that video, you’ll see that the front glass doors of the Trump hotel weren’t even broken by the explosion.”

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Las Vegas police responded to a vehicle fire at Trump Tower in Las Vegas on Wednesday morning. (Chris Saad via Storyful)

While the explosion did not damage the glass doors, seven people suffered minor injuries and were taken to a nearby hospital.

As for all hotel guests, they were accommodated in another hotel while the investigation into the explosion continues.

Like McMahill, Jeremy Schwartz, the Acting FBI Special Agent in charge in Las Vegas, did not identify the person inside the vehicle and said, “Our number one goal is to ensure that we have proper identification of the subject involved in the incident.”

The second goal, Schwartz said, was to determine whether the explosion was an act of terrorism, which is being investigated by a joint counterterrorism task force.

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An investigator photographs a Tesla Cybertruck that exploded outside the lobby of President-elect Donald Trump’s hotel on January 1, 2025 in Las Vegas. At least one person was killed and seven injured when a Tesla Cybertruck exploded outside a hotel belonging to US President-elect Donald Trump in Las Vegas, police said Wednesday. (Photo by WADE VANDERVORT/AFP via Getty Images)

The special agent said the task force is made up of area law enforcement officers.

“We’re not doing anything and we wouldn’t do anything alone without our partners making sure we’re all in unison,” Schwartz said. “We have learned from the mistakes of the past and we are not going to do it again.”

The Cybertruck explosion was the second suspected fatal incident in a major city since early 2025.

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Investigators work at the scene after a person drove a vehicle into a crowd at Canal and Bourbon Street in New Orleans, Wednesday, Jan. 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert) (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)

Early Wednesday morning, a man later identified as Shamsud Din Jabbar drove a pickup truck into a crowd on New Orleans’ famous Bourbon Street, killing more than a dozen people and injuring dozens more.

The truck Din Jabbar was driving was rented from car rental company Turo, as was the Cybertruck that burst into flames in Las Vegas. The vehicle Din Jabbar rented also had an ISIS flag on the trailer hitch.

Schwartz said the FBI believes the explosion in Las Vegas was an isolated incident.

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Investigators photograph a Tesla Cybertruck that exploded outside the lobby of President-elect Donald Trump’s hotel on January 1, 2025 in Las Vegas. At least one person was killed and seven injured when a Tesla Cybertruck exploded outside a hotel belonging to US President-elect Donald Trump in Las Vegas, police said Wednesday. (Photo by WADE VANDERVORT/AFP via Getty Images)

“We don’t believe there are many people supporting or helping this, and we don’t believe there is any other danger to the community at this time,” he said, assuring the community that in the coming hours and days, they will do what they can to get to the bottom of it. of the incident.

McMahill said he didn’t know if the two were connected but didn’t rule it out. He also said the Cybertruck did not have an ISIS flag like the New Orleans truck, but that all aspects are being investigated.

The preliminary research up to this point involved input from Elon Musk, CEO of Teslawho McMahill said provided quite a bit of information about how the vehicle was locked after it exploded due to the force of the explosion.

Musk also helped capture surveillance footage of Tesla charging stations across the country.

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The billionaire kept his followers informed about the Cybertruck explosion on his X social media platform.

“We have now confirmed that the explosion was caused by very large fireworks and/or a bomb carried on the bed of the rented Cybertruck and is not related to the vehicle itself. All vehicle telemetry was positive at the time of the explosion.” Musk wrote. in a publication.

“The evil idiots chose the wrong vehicle for a terrorist attack. The Cybertruck actually contained the explosion and directed it upwards,” he said in another post. “Not even the glass doors in the lobby were broken.”

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President Biden also weighed in on the Las Vegas explosion.

“We are following the explosion of a Cybertruck in front of the Trump hotel in Las Vegas,” he said, speaking of the fatal accident in New Orleans. “Law enforcement and the intelligence community are investigating this as well, including whether there is any possible connection to the attack in New Orleans. As of now, there is nothing to report on this at this time.”