Authorities said one person was killed and seven others injured on Wednesday when a Tesla Cybertruck that appeared to be carrying fireworks caught fire and exploded outside U.S. President-elect Donald Trump's hotel in Las Vegas.
Las Vegas Metropolitan Police and Clark County Fire Department officials said at a news conference that a person was killed in the futuristic-looking pickup truck and that officers were working to recover the body. Seven people nearby suffered minor injuries and several were taken to hospital.
In a statement, a county spokesman said a fire was reported at 8:40 a.m. in the service area of the Trump International Hotel Las Vegas.
According to a law enforcement official, the truck was rented through the Turo app and was likely carrying a load of fireworks. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak publicly.
A Turo spokesman did not immediately respond to an emailed request for comment.
He's investigating Tesla, Musk says
Law enforcement officials did not rule out a possible terrorism motive, said a person familiar with the matter. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to publicly discuss details of the investigation.
“I know you have a lot of questions,” Jeremy Schwartz, acting special agent in charge of the FBI's Las Vegas office, told reporters. “We don't have a lot of answers.”
President Joe Biden was briefed on the explosion, which occurred several hours later the driver drove his truck into the crowd in the French Quarter in New Orleans early on New Year's Day, killing at least 10 people. The suspect was killed in a shootout with police.
“Tesla's entire senior team is currently investigating this matter,” Tesla CEO Elon Musk wrote in a statement on X, the social media platform he owns. “We've never seen anything like this.”
The witness heard 3 explosions
Witness Ana Bruce, who traveled from Brazil to Las Vegas, said she heard three explosions.
“The first one where we saw a fire, the second one I think was a battery or something like that, and the third one was this big one that filled up the whole area with smoke and that was the point where everyone was told to evacuate and stay away. – said Bruce.
Her traveling companion, Alcides Antunes, showed video of flames reaching the sides of the silver vehicle.
This 64-story hotel is located right on the Las Vegas Strip, across the street from the Fashion Show Las Vegas shopping center.
Eric Trump, son of the president-elect and executive vice president of the Trump Organization, posted about the fire on X, praising the fire department and local law enforcement “for their quick response and professionalism.”