Decorated special forces soldier behind Vegas Tesla blast outside Trump hotel, FBI rules out terror link but motive elusive

Decorated special forces soldier behind Vegas Tesla blast outside Trump hotel, FBI rules out terror link but motive elusive



An investigator photographs a Tesla Cybertruck that exploded outside the lobby of President-elect Donald Trump's hotel January 1, 2025, in Las Vegas. At least one person was killed and seven wounded when a Tesla Cybertruck exploded outside a hotel belonging to US President-elect Donald Trump in Las Vegas, police said Wednesday. — AFP pic

Friday, 03 Jan 2025 9:39 AM MYT


LAS VEGAS, Jan 3 — The decorated US special forces soldier who blew up a Tesla Cybertruck outside the Trump International Hotel in Las Vegas shot himself in the head before the blast, authorities said yesterday, adding that his motivation was still “unknown.”

Matthew Livelsberger, 37, a member of the elite Green Berets, took his own life in the rented vehicle filled with fuel containers and fireworks, which then erupted into flames, officials said.


Livelsberger’s body was burned beyond recognition but Las Vegas Sheriff Kevin McMahill said authorities had “a lot of confidence” that he was the sole occupant of the Cybertruck.

Las Vegas police said he had been identified as the “driver” of the vehicle, and that the coroner had ruled he had died by suicide.


Livelsberger, identified through his military ID, passport and credit cards, was found with a gun at his feet, McMahill told reporters at a press conference in Las Vegas.


“The motivation at this point is unknown,” FBI Special Agent Spencer Evans said.

Evans said there is “no information that we’re aware of right now that connects this individual to any terrorist organisation around the world.”

Kenny Cooper, a special agent with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, said Livelsberger had legally purchased two semi-automatic handguns on Monday which were found in the remains of the vehicle.

Video footage outside the Trump hotel shows the stainless steel truck parked at the building’s glass entrance early Wednesday, then bursting into flames, followed by smaller explosions that appeared similar to fireworks.

Seven people were wounded in the blast.



Police block an area where a Tesla Cybertruck caught fire and exploded outside the lobby of President-elect Donald Trump's hotel, on January 1, 2025, in Las Vegas. — AFP pic



No link with New Orleans attack

The Trump-branded building, which opened in 2008, is part-owned by the Republican president-elect’s family business.

Evans said the link to the president-elect was “not lost” on investigators, nor was the fact that Tesla is owned by world’s richest man — and prominent Trump backer — Elon Musk.

“But we don’t have information at this point that definitively tells us” it was driven by any particular ideology, he said.

Livelsberger rented the vehicle in Colorado on December 28, from where authorities tracked him driving it alone through Arizona and New Mexico to Las Vegas, which he reached on January 1, McMahill said.

Livelsberger was a Green Beret who had been deployed to Afghanistan in 2009 and was currently stationed in Germany.

An army spokesperson said Livelsberger was “on approved leave at the time of his death,” and that he had been awarded multiple Bronze Star Medals, including one for valour.

Investigators said it was not yet clear how the blast detonated, but the components were mainly consumer products like fireworks and fuel.

They said some of the components had not exploded, and that the level of sophistication in the blast was not what they would expect from someone with Livelsberger’s military background.

“I just don’t think it was done as well as he was expecting it to be done,” McMahill said.

The blast came just hours after a pickup truck ploughed into a crowd of revellers in the French Quarter of New Orleans, killing 14 people and injuring dozens.

Initially investigators were probing potential links between the events, but authorities in New Orleans said yesterday they believe the Islamic State-inspired attacker there acted alone, while the FBI described the Vegas incident as “isolated.” — AFP