The man who died in the explosion of a Tesla Cybertruck packed with explosives near President-elect Donald Trump’s Las Vegas hotel has been identified as Matthew Livelsberger, an active-duty US Army soldier, according to US officials, the Associated Press reports.
The explosion occurred Wednesday and injured seven people nearby, though their injuries were minor. The truck, loaded with firework mortars and camp fuel canisters, detonated near the hotel in an incident that law enforcement is continuing to investigate.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk commented on the situation, stating that the explosion was unrelated to the Cybertruck itself, which had been rented through the Turo app.
“All vehicle telemetry was positive at the time of the explosion,” Musk said on social media platform X.
Two law enforcement officials, speaking on the condition of anonymity, identified the man inside the Cybertruck as Livelsberger. Three US officials confirmed his status as an active-duty soldier who had been stationed at the base formerly known as Fort Bragg, a North Carolina Army installation home to Army Special Forces Command.
Officials have not disclosed further details about Livelsberger’s service or the circumstances leading to the explosion.
The FBI announced it is conducting “law enforcement activity” at a home in Colorado Springs connected to the incident but has not provided additional details. Authorities are aware of the identity of the individual who rented the Cybertruck via Turo, according to Las Vegas Sheriff Kevin McMahill.
The explosion occurred just hours after another violent incident in New Orleans. Shamsud-Din Bahar Jabbar, a 42-year-old US Army veteran, drove a truck into a crowd in the French Quarter, killing at least 15 people before being fatally shot by police. Officials are investigating that crash as a potential terrorist attack but do not currently believe Jabbar acted alone.
While both men had spent time at Fort Bragg, authorities have not found any overlap in their assignments.
The explosion and its connections to other events are under active investigation, with federal and local authorities collaborating to piece together the details.
