Tesla Cybertruck explosion near Trump hotel kills 1, injures 7

A Tesla Cybertruck exploded late Wednesday near President-elect Donald Trump’s Las Vegas hotel, killing one person inside the vehicle and injuring seven others outside.

Forensic investigators say the futuristic-looking pickup truck’s back was stuffed with firework mortars and camp fuel canisters.

Authorities said the person who rented the truck with the Turo app in Colorado is known to them, but are not releasing the name until investigators determine if it is the same person who died.

Officials are also investigating a potential terrorism link.

Videos captured at Telsa charging stations provided by CEO Elon Musk helped authorities track the vehicle’s journey. It arrived in Las Vegas at about 7:30 am local time and drove about an hour later into the valet area of the Trump International Hotel, where it sat for 15 to 20 seconds before the explosion occurred.

Musk: The explosion is unrelated to the vehicle

Musk said on Wednesday afternoon on X, “We have now confirmed that 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.”

Musk has recently become a member of Trump’s inner circle and attended a New Year’s Eve party at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida, which the president-elect did not attend.