A Tesla Cybertruck that exploded and burst into flames Wednesday morning just outside the Trump International Hotel Las Vegas has left one person dead and several injured, according to the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department.
Seven people suffered minor injuries and are being treated at local hospitals, Sheriff Kevin McMahill said during a media briefing.
McMahill said the individual who was killed has not been identified, adding that it was unclear if they were a male or female. An eyewitness who captured the fire from inside the hotel lobby and posted it on X, said the vehicle pulled up outside and then “blew up.” The video, and others like it, quickly spread on X.
Law enforcement continues to investigate a number of leads, McMahill said. Gov. Joe Lombardo said his office was coordinating with LVMPD and partner agencies.
During the media briefing, McMahill referenced the fatal attack that occurred Wednesday morning in New Orleans and killed at least 15 people. He didn’t make an implicit connection to the attack, but said law enforcement was taking precautions.
“We’re very well aware of what has happened in New Orleans with the event that occurred there, and the number of victims there, and the additional IEDs,” he said. “So as you can imagine, with an explosion here on iconic Las Vegas Boulevard, we are taking all of the precautions that we need to take to keep our community safe.”
McMahill said law enforcement was looking for secondary devices, adding there does not appear to be any further threat to the community here now. “If that changes, obviously you will hear directly from me to provide any update to you,” he said.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk posted several notes on X, initially stating that the “whole senior Tesla team is investigating” the incident.
“Will post more information as soon as we learn anything. We’ve never seen anything like this,” Musk wrote.
Musk later posted that the vehicle was operating as normal, according to telemetry data he said the Tesla team viewed.
“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,” he wrote.
The incident comes as Musk, who also owns X, maintains a close connection to President-elect Donald Trump. A review of Musk’s flight data showed at least 31 flights to or from Trump’s Mar-a-Lago property in Florida. This week, the NYT reported that Musk has been staying at a cottage on the Mar-a-Lago property.
This article has been updated with new information, including the explosion left one person dead and several injured.
