1 person dies when Tesla Cybertruck catches fire and explodes outside Trump’s Las Vegas hotel
LAS VEGAS (AP) — One person died and seven others were injured Wednesday when a Tesla Cybertruck that appeared to be carrying fireworks caught fire and exploded outside President-elect Donald Trump’s Las Vegas hotel, authorities said.
Las Vegas Metropolitan Police and Clark County Fire Department officials told a news conference that a person died inside the futuristic-looking pickup truck and they were working to get the body out. Seven people nearby had minor injuries and several were taken to a hospital.
The fire in the valet area of the Trump International Hotel Las Vegas was reported at 8:40 a.m., a county spokesperson said in a statement.
According to a law enforcement official, the truck was rented via the Turo app and appeared to have a load of fireworks. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly.
A Turo spokesperson did not immediately respond to an emailed request for comment.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk said Wednesday afternoon on X that “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.”
“The whole Tesla senior team is investigating this matter right now,” Musk said in an earlier post on the platform after attending a New Year’s Eve party at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort. “We’ve never seen anything like this.”
Law enforcement officials have not ruled out terrorism as a possible motive, a person familiar with the matter said. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to publicly discuss details of the investigation.
“I know you have a lot of questions,” Jeremy Schwartz, acting special agent in charge for the FBI’s Las Vegas office, told reporters. “We don’t have a lot of answers.”
President Joe Biden was briefed on the explosion. The truck explosion came hours after a driver rammed a truck into a crowd in New Orleans’ famed French Quarter early on New Year’s Day, killing at least 15 people before being shot to death by police. That crash was being investigated as a terrorist attack and police believe the driver was not acting alone.
In Las Vegas, witness Ana Bruce, visiting from Brazil, said she heard three explosions.
“The first one where we saw the fire, the second one, I guess, was the battery or something like that, and the third was the big one that smoked the entire area and was the moment when everyone was told to evacuate and stay away,” Bruce said.
Her travel companion, Alcides Antunes, showed video he took of flames lapping the sides of the silver-colored vehicle.
The 64-story hotel is just off the Las Vegas Strip and across the street from the Fashion Show Las Vegas shopping mall.
Eric Trump, a son of the president-elect and executive vice president of the Trump Organization, posted about the fire on the social media platform X. He praised the fire department and local law enforcement “for their swift response and professionalism.”
Associated Press writers Colleen Long and Zeke Miller in Washington contributed to this report. Snow reported from Phoenix.
Tesla Cybertruck bursts into flames outside Trump hotel in Las Vegas, killing one
A Tesla Cybertruck exploded and burst into flames Wednesday morning just outside the entrance of the Trump International Hotel in Las Vegas, killing a person inside the vehicle and injuring several other people standing nearby, local officials said.
The suspicious blast is being investigated as a possible terrorist attack, three senior law enforcement members briefed on the matter told NBC News. A motive has yet to be established.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk, a top Trump adviser, insisted on X that the explosion had nothing to do with the vehicle.
"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," Musk declared. "All vehicle telemetry was positive at the time of the explosion."
The blast came just hours after a driver in a rented pickup truck plowed into New Year's Eve revelers on Bourbon Street in New Orleans, killing at least 15 and injuring more than 30 others before he was shot dead by police.
“With an explosion here on an iconic Las Vegas boulevard, we are taking all of the precautions we need to take to keep our community safe," Clark County/Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Sheriff Kevin McMahill said at a news conference. "We’re looking for secondary devices. ... There does not appear to be any further threat to our community now."
The explosion outside the Trump International Hotel was reported about 8:40 a.m. local time, McMahill said.
"We were told that a 2024 Cybertruck pulled up to the front of the hotel, and, in fact, I can tell you it pulled right up to the glass entrance doors of the hotel," McMahill said. "We saw smoke start showing from the vehicle, and then an explosion from the truck occurs."
McMahill said it was unclear whether the person killed in the Cybertruck was a man or woman.
Clark County Deputy Fire Chief Thomas Touchstone said that as first responders began to extinguish the fire, they "realized at the same time that there were multiple persons with injuries located around the vehicle."
Of the seven people injured, Touchstone said, two were taken to University Medical Center of Southern Nevada in Las Vegas. The injuries of all seven people are considered minor, McMahill said.
Touchstone said officials are working to recover the body of the person from the Cybertruck. Officials asked the public to stay away from the scene.
The Cybertruck had been rented from Turo, the company that rented the truck that was used just hours earlier in the New Orleans attack, which is also being investigated as a possible terrorist attack.
Turo did not respond to a request for comment.
In videos circulating online, sirens can be heard in the Trump International Hotel lobby as the vehicle just outside the doors is engulfed in flames. A person on social media said they were near the front door when the vehicle exploded and forced to leave their luggage by the door.
The FBI's Las Vegas office saidin a statement that it “has personnel on scene to offer assistance to our local partners, who handled the initial response.”
Trump International Hotel was evacuated, and guests have been moved to Resorts World Las Vegas, officials said at the news conference.
In a statement that President-elect Donald Trump's son Eric Trump also shared on X, the Trump Organization acknowledged that “a reported electric vehicle fire occurred in the porte cochère of Trump Las Vegas.”
A porte cochère is a covered entrance large enough for vehicles to drive through.
“The safety and well-being of our guests and staff remain our top priority. We extend our heartfelt gratitude to the Las Vegas Fire Department and local law enforcement for their swift response and professionalism,” the statement read.
Trump International Hotel Las Vegas is owned by the Trump Organization and American businessman Phil Ruffin.
In videos of the lobby, loud blasts can be heard as the fire grows larger just beyond the entrance to the hotel, which is embossed with the letter "T" for Trump.
Mary Lescano Paguada, 43, who was on vacation in Las Vegas from San Antonio to celebrate the new year at the hotel, said she heard an explosion early Wedenesday.
Initially, she did not worry until she started seeing law enforcement officers responding.
Paguada said that once she and her husband reached the lobby, they heard screaming and were told by hotel staff to get out and "don't breathe the smoke. Don't stay."
She said they were not allowed to return to their rooms.
Social media posts showed smoke filling the air around the building. Other videos taken from nearby hotels show first responders appearing to race to the scene.
Trump has tapped Musk to co-lead an advisory council, the Department of Government Efficiency, during his second administration, which aims to slash federal regulations and government spending. Musk, who is the world’s richest person, contributed $277 million to back Trump’s campaign and other GOP candidates, according to campaign finance records.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
Police probing cybertruck explosion at Trump Las Vegas hotel
Police are investigating the explosion of a Tesla Cybertruck outside the Trump Hotel in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Police said a truck pulled up in front of the hotel on Wednesday near a glass entrance, then smoke started coming from the vehicle and it exploded.
The driver was killed and seven people were injured, police said without naming any of the individuals involved. Officials said all injuries were minor.
In a post on X, Tesla CEO Elon Musk said 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".
The fire occurred around 0840 PT (1540 GMT), just hours after 15 people were killed when a man drove a truck into a crowd in New Orleans, Louisiana, on New Year's Day.
Police have yet to confirm the if the Las Vegas incident was caused by a bomb or fireworks, but two sources with knowledge of the investigation told the BBC's US partner CBS News that investigators were working to determine whether fireworks were responsible.
Sheriff Kevin McMahill of the Las Vegas Police Department said officials were "well aware of what happened in New Orleans", referring to the attack that included improvised explosive devices found near the scene in Louisiana.
"As you can imagine, with an explosion here on an iconic Las Vegas Boulevard, we are taking all of the precautions that we need to take to keep our community safe," he said during a news conference.
"Obviously, a Cybertruck, the Trump Hotel, there's lots of questions that we have to answer as we move forward," he added.
The two incidents have not been linked. Mr McMahill said there was no longer a threat to the Las Vegas community.
Fire department officials said emergency responders quickly worked to extinguish the vehicle fire.
They added that the public should stay away from the area and that the hotel was evacuated, with most of the guests moving to a different location.
The hotel is owned in part by President-elect Donald Trump's company. In a post on X, Trump's son, Eric Trump, said a "reported electric vehicle fire occurred in the porte cochère of Trump Las Vegas".
"The safety and well-being of our guests and staff remain our top priority. We extend our heartfelt gratitude to the Las Vegas Fire Department and local law enforcement for their swift response and professionalism," he said.
The White House said President Joe Biden had been briefed on the incident and his administration has offered any federal assistance needed.
Stephen Ferlando told the Washington Post that he witnessed the incident from his hotel room on the 53rd floor of the Trump Tower. He told the outlet there was "definitely an explosion" and that the windows began to shake.
The Trump Hotel spans 64 floors with around 1,300 suites, according to its website.
Trump recently named Musk to co-lead a presidential advisory commission, the Department of Government Efficiency, after the two became close during Trump's campaign.
Tesla Cybertruck explodes outside Trump Las Vegas hotel, killing one
Jan 1 (Reuters) - A Tesla Cybertruck exploded in flames outside the Trump Hotel Las Vegas on Wednesday, killing one person and injuring at least seven others, officials said, and the FBI said it was joining the investigation.
Videos taken by witnesses inside and outside the hotel showed the vehicle exploding and flames pouring out of it, as it sat just outside the hotel.
The incident occurred just hours after a man drove a truck into crowds of New Year's Day revelers in New Orleans, killing at least 10.
"Obviously a Cybertruck, the Trump hotel -- there's lots of questions that we have to answer," Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department Sheriff Kevin McMahill said at a press conference.
Elon Musk, the CEO of Tesla (TSLA.O) , opens new tab and an adviser to President-elect Donald Trump, said the blast was unrelated to the Cybertruck itself.
"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," Musk said in a post on X. "All vehicle telemetry was positive at the time of the explosion."
Telemetry involves the automatic collection of data from remote sources, transmitting it back to a central source so it can later be analyzed.
The Trump International Hotel in Las Vegas is part of the Trump Organization, the company of President-elect Trump, who will return to the White House on Jan. 20. Musk was a key backer of Trump in his 2024 presidential campaign and is also an adviser to Trump.
A person was found dead inside the 2024 model-year Cybertruck and seven people sustained minor injuries from the explosion, McMahill said.
News reports said the fire was being investigated as a possible terrorist act.
The FBI is investigating, special agent in charge Jeremy Schwartz told the press conference.
"We've got a lot of questions," Schwartz said. "We're deploying resources. We will continue to do that until we get to the end of this and figure out exactly what happened and why."
McMahill said the Cybertruck pulled up to the Trump building at 8:40 a.m. local time. He said police were mindful of the New Orleans attack that occurred earlier on Wednesday. The FBI said a potential explosive device was found in the vehicle used in the New Orleans attack.
"As you can imagine, with an explosion here on iconic Las Vegas Boulevard, we are taking all the precautions that we need to take to keep our community safe. We're looking for secondary devices," McMahill said, adding that there did not appear to be any further threat to the community.
Las Vegas firefighters responded four minutes after the vehicle fire was reported and extinguished it. Two of the injured people were transported to hospitals with minor injuries. The Trump Hotel was evacuated after the incident and most of the visitors were moved to another hotel.
Eric Trump, executive vice president of the Trump Organization and a son of President-elect Trump, posted about the incident on X. "Earlier today, a reported electric vehicle fire occurred in the porte cochère of Trump Las Vegas," he wrote.
Tesla Cybertruck explosion outside Trump Hotel in Las Vegas investigated as possible act of terrorism, sources say
A Tesla Cybertruck that exploded outside the Trump Towers in Las Vegas, killing at least one person, is being investigated as a possible act of terrorism, multiple sources with knowledge of the investigation told CBS News.
A person inside the vehicle died and seven others suffered minor injuries, police said. Two sources with knowledge of the investigation confirmed to CBS News that investigators are working to determine whether fireworks were responsible for the truck explosion.
"There is one deceased individual in the Cybertruck, and I don't know whether it's a male or female," said Sheriff Kevin McMahill of the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department at a press conference.
"At this time, we are investigating a number of leads, and I'm not prepared to release any of that information to you just yet. I can tell you that there are seven victims right now that sustained injuries from the explosion," he added. The injuries are reportedly minor, said McMahill.
McMahill noted that officials are "very well aware" of the deadly New Orleans attack on Wednesday, when a man intentionally drove a pickup truck into a crowd of revelers on Bourbon Street, killing at least 15 people. The FBI said "weapons and a potential IED," or improvised explosive device, were found in his vehicle.
Because of the timing, McMahill said officials are "taking all of the precautions that we need to take to keep our community safe."
"We're looking for secondary devices," he added.
President Biden said Wednesday evening that law enforcement and the intelligence community are investigating whether there's any possible connection with the New Orleans attack, but "thus far there's nothing to report."
The Cybertruck, a 2024 model, pulled up to the hotel's glass entrance doors, McMahill said. Smoke began emerging from the vehicle, and then a large explosion occurred.
Several videos posted on social media showed the blast and the Cybertruck engulfed in flames.
In the past year, Tesla CEO Elon Musk has become a major donor and close adviser to Trump, with the billionaire tasked to head up Trump's Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE. Musk, along with his co-leader of DOGE, Vivek Ramaswamy, are aiming to cut billions in federal spending.
"[O]bviously a Cybertruck, the Trump Hotel — there's lots of questions that we have to answer as we move forward with that," McMahill said.
Tesla didn't immediately respond to a request for comment.
In a post on X, Musksaid The whole Tesla senior team is investigating this matter right now. Will post more information as soon as we learn anything. We've never seen anything like this."
In another post a few hours later, he said the blast "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."
A county spokeswoman said in a statement that the fire in the valet area of the Trump International Hotel Las Vegas was reported at 8:40 a.m. Details about the incident were initially sketchy.
"I know you have a lot of questions," Jeremy Schwartz, acting FBI Special Agent in Charge for the Las Vegas office, said at the news conference. "We don't have a lot of answers."
Eric Trump, one of the president-elect's sons, posted about the fire on X, saying that an "electric vehicle fire occurred in the porte cochère of Trump Las Vegas."
Officials urged people to stay away from the area around the Trump Las Vegas hotel, which was evacuated. The 64-story hotel is just off the famed Las Vegas Strip and across the street from the Fashion Show Las Vegas shopping mall.
Tesla introduced its steel-clad, futuristic-looking Cybertruck in 2023, with Musk at the time touting the vehicle's bullet-proof windows. The all-wheel Cybertruck ranges in price from about $80,000 to $100,000.
The Associated Press, Margaret Brennan, Robert Legare and Jennifer Jacobs contributed to this report.
Fireworks, gas tanks and camping fuel used in Tesla Cybertruck explosion outside Las Vegas Trump Hotel
Authorities believe fireworks, gas tanks and camping fuel were connected to a detonation system controlled by the driver in the Tesla Cybertruck that exploded outside a Trump Hotel in Las Vegas Wednesday morning.
The incident is being investigated as a possible terrorist act, according to a law enforcement official who has been briefed on the investigation.
At a news conference, Las Vegas Sheriff Kevin McMahill said a vehicle fire was reported at the hotel just after 8:40 a.m. Crews arrived to find a 2024 Cybertruck engulfed in flames, he said.
“There is one deceased individual inside the Cybertruck and I don’t know whether it is a male or a female at this time,” McMahill said.
Seven other victims sustained what McMahill described as “minor” injuries as a result of the explosion.
Video shared on social media appears to show the car engulfed in smoke as it is being hosed down.
Jeremy Schwartz, acting special agent in charge of the FBI in Las Vegas, also confirmed that his team is involved in the investigation.
Nevada Gov. Joe Lombardo wrote on X that his office is coordinating with authorities and will ensure they have any necessary resources available.
The Cybertruck was rented on the car rental company Turo, according to a law enforcement official briefed on the investigation. CNN has reached out to the company.
Surveillance video shows a driver passing by the Trump Hotel in Vegas about an hour before the car explodes, and then circling back near the end of that hour andstopping in front of the hotel, where the car explodes several seconds later, the official told CNN.
Authorities are exploring whether there is any connection between the explosion and the attack in New Orleans, where a suspect rammed into a crowd with a truck rented on Turo, though one has not been determined yet.
In a post on X, Elon Musk wrote Tesla is investigating the matter.
”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,” Musk wrote.
Eric Trump, executive vice president of the Trump organization, also posted on X that the “safety and well-being of our guests and staff remain our top priority.”
“We extend our heartfelt gratitude to the Las Vegas Fire Department and local law enforcement for their swift response and professionalism,” Trump wrote.
Galit Ventura Rozen, who was a guest on the 62nd floor of the nearby Resorts World Las Vegas at the time of the explosion, said she looked out of her window to see a cloud of smoke rising from the area near the Trump hotel and immediately began recording.
“We saw a huge cloud of smoke … we didn’t know what was going on,” she said. “Then I saw a line a line of probably at least three ambulances and a bunch of police cars.”
Rozen said she later filmed a crowd of what appeared to be Trump hotel guests standing in a nearby parking lot.
McMahill told reporters the investigation into the incident is ongoing and his team is also “well aware” of attack in New Orleans that killed at least 10 people and injured dozens of others.
As a result, the sheriff said they are checking for “secondary devices” to ensure the safety of the community.
“There does not appear to be any further threat to our community here now,” McMahill said.
“But obviously, a Cybertruck, the Trump hotel – there’s lots of questions that we have to answer as we move forward.”
CNN’s Jack Hannah and Lauren Mascarenhas contributed to this report.
One killed as Tesla cybertruck explodes outside Trump’s Las Vegas hotel
A Tesla Cybertruck has exploded outside President-elect Donald Trump’s hotel in Las Vegas, Nevada.
The £63,000 car - made by Trump ally Elon Musk’s firm - was seen ablaze yards from the building’s revolving doors.
The driver was killed and seven people were injured.
Sheriff Kevin McMahill said police are investigating the blast in the valet area of the Trump International Hotel.
Las Vegas Metropolitan Police and Clark County Fire Department officials told reporters at a news conference that they were working to get the body of the person who died out of the vehicle.
Detectives said the cybertruck pulled up in front of the hotel on Wednesday around 8.40am near a glass entrance, then smoke started coming from it before the explosion.
It comes hours after pick-up truck driver Shamsud-Din Jabbar, 42, killed 10 and injured more than 30 others after ramming into a crowd of revellers in New Orleans, Louisiana on New Year's Day.
Sheriff McMahill, of the Las Vegas Police Department, said officials were “well aware of what happened in New Orleans”, including that two improvised explosive device was found at the crime scene in Louisiana.
He said during the news conference: “As you can imagine, with an explosion here on an iconic Las Vegas Boulevard, we are taking all of the precautions that we need to take to keep our community safe.”
McMahill said there was no longer a threat to the Las Vegas community.
Fire department officials said emergency responders quickly worked to extinguish the vehicle fire.
They added that the public should stay away from the area and that the hotel was evacuated, with most of the guests moving to a different location.
“I know you have a lot of questions,” Jeremy Schwartz, acting FBI Special Agent in Charge for the Las Vegas office, said at the news conference. “We don’t have a lot of answers.”
Eric Trump, a son of the president-elect and executive vice president of the Trump Organization, posted about the fire on the social media platform X. He praised the fire department and local law enforcement “for their swift response and professionalism.”
The 64-story hotel, owned in part by Trump’s company, is just off the famed Las Vegas Strip and across the street from the Fashion Show shopping mall.
In a statement posted on X, CEO Musk said his that the “whole Tesla senior team is investigating this matter right now. Will post more information as soon as we learn anything. We’ve never seen anything like this”.
Trump hotel Tesla Cybertruck explosion probed as possible terror act as vehicle was rented with same app as truck from New Orleans massacre
Authorities are investigating the Tesla Cybertruck explosion that occurred outside Trump Las Vegas hotel Wednesday as a possible act of terror, The Post has learned.
Wild surveillance footage shared on social media shows the electric pickup truck suddenly burst into flames, blowing the vehicle to smithereens around 8:40 a.m. local time. Shattered glass, metal paneling, and other debris could be seen flying in all directions.
A plume of eerie smoke then engulfed the outside of the hotel while the Cybertruck was left as a fiery wreck.
Officials said at least seven bystanders suffered minor injuries in the explosion and the driver, who pulled the truck into the valet area of the hotel, was killed.
“A 2024 Cybertruck pulled up to the front of the hotel, and in fact, I can tell you, it pulled right up to the glass entrance doors of the hotel. We saw that smoke start showing from the vehicle, and then a large explosion from the truck,” Las Vegas Metropolitan Sheriff Kevin McMahill told reporters.
The blast occurred just hours after a US military vet flying an ISIS flag rammed a pickup truck into a crowd of revelers ringing in the New Year on the famed Bourbon Street in New Orleans. The FBI is investigating the attack as an act of terrorism.
Officials have not yet confirmed the identity nor the gender of the driver in the Cybertruck but have indicated that there is no evidence at the moment that the two incidents are linked.
“We are very well aware of what has happened in New Orleans,” McMahill added. “I just want to say to all of the people here in Las Vegas [that] there does not appear to be any further threat to our community here now.”
Investigators did, however, determine that the Tesla truck was rented through the Turo app, the same one used to rent the pickup truck used in the New Orleans attack, law enforcement sources told The Post.
It is unclear what caused the blast at Trump Las Vegas hotel but the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department is mounting a criminal investigation into whether it was intentionally detonated and are treating it as a possible act of terror.
Authorities also confirmed that the Cybertruck was filled with fireworks-style mortars and are trying to determine whether they were set off deliberately, according to Tesla boss Elon Musk.
“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 wrote on X.
“Cybertruck is the worst possible choice for a car bomb, as its stainless steel armor will contain the blast better than any other commercial vehicle,” he said in another post.
While the probe is underway, police are encouraging the public to steer clear of the area, despite the fire having been put out. There were no Secret Service protectees at Trump Las Vegas at the time of the explosion, The Post was told.
President Biden has been briefed on the explosion and instructed his team to offer any federal aid if necessary, the White House said.
The glass doors at the front of the hotel were seen shaking in the surveillance footage, though it was not entirely clear how damaged they were from the explosion.
Trump Las Vegas hotel thanked law enforcement for responding to the explosion.
“Earlier today a reported electric vehicle fire occurred in the porte cochère of Trump Las Vegas. The safety & well-being of our guests and staff remain our top priority,” the hotel said in a statement.
Given its ties to President-elect Donald Trump, the hotel has faced security concerns in the past, including threats.
“The safety and well-being of our guests and staff remain our top priority. We extend our heartfelt gratitude to the Las Vegas Fire Department and local law enforcement for their swift response and professionalism,” Eric Trump, the executive vice president of the Trump Organization, wrote on social media about the incident.
The Post has reached out to the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department and Trump transition team for additional information or comment.
The deceased suspect in the New Orleans attack, Shamsud-Din Jabbar, 42, had an ISIS flag in the vehicle, the FBI said.
Officials also suggested that the suspect might not have been working alone.
Meanwhile, out of an abundance of caution, law enforcement will station vehicles on 56th and 57th Streets outside of Trump Tower and restrict vehicles from stopping.
Tesla Cybertruck explosion in front of Trump hotel in Las Vegas leaves 1 dead, 7 injured
One person is dead and seven injured after a Tesla Cybertruck caught fire and exploded outside Trump International Hotel in Las Vegas, authorities said Wednesday.
Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department Sheriff Kevin McMahill said at a press conference that a person inside the vehicle was killed and that the other injuries had been reported to him as "minor." He said the incident did not appear to pose any further threat to the community.
"We are investigating a number of leads, and I'm not prepared to release any of that information to you just yet," McMahill said.
"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," McMahill said, referring to an attack in New Orleans that killed 10 on Wednesday morning. "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."
ABC News and CNN reported that authorities are investigating the explosion as a possible act of terror.
In a press conference on Wednesday, President Joe Biden said authorities were investigating whether there was any connection between the Las Vegas explosion and the New Orleans attack.
ABC News reported, citing multiple law enforcement sources, that the Cybertruck was rented on Turo, the same app used to rent the pickup used in the New Orleans attack. The AP, citing a law enforcement official, also reported that the truck was rented via Turo.
"At 8:40 a.m. Las Vegas time, we received a report of an explosion and a fire at the Trump Towers," McMahill said at the press conference. "We were told that a 2024 Cybertruck pulled up to the front of the hotel, and in fact, I can tell you that it pulled right up to the glass entrance doors of the hotel. We saw that smoke starts showing from the vehicle, and then a large explosion from the truck occurs."
"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," Tesla CEO Elon Musk wrote on X. "All vehicle telemetry was positive at the time of the explosion."
McMahill said that the "vast majority" of the people staying at the Trump hotel have moved to the Resorts World Las Vegas hotel.
"The safety and well-being of our guests and staff remain our top priority," Eric Trump, EVP of The Trump Organization, wrote on X. "We extend our heartfelt gratitude to the Las Vegas Fire Department and local law enforcement for their swift response and professionalism."
This story is developing. Please check back for updates.
