A Tesla Cybertruck exploded outside Trump hotel in Las Vegas. Here’s what we know
Brynn Gingras John Miller
By Hanna Park, Chelsea Bailey, Brynn Gingras, John Miller and Lauren Mascarenhas, CNN
CNN
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The explosion of a Tesla Cybertruck outside the Trump International Hotel in Las Vegas on Wednesday could have been significantly worse, if not for the vehicle’s body construction, which helped contain the blast, police said.
The driver of the Cybertruck was killed and seven others nearby were injured when a combination of fireworks, gas tanks and camping fuel in the bed of the vehicle were detonated by a device controlled by the driver, police say.
The FBI is investigating whether the explosion is tied to terrorism.
“It’s a Tesla truck, and we know that Elon Musk is working with President-elect Trump, and it’s the Trump tower,” Kevin McMahill, sheriff of the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department, said Wednesday. “So, there’s obviously things to be concerned about there, and that’s something we continue to look at.”
The explosion bore some general similarities to the vehicle attack in New Orleans earlier Wednesday, as both involved a truck rented through the website Turo and a symbolic target on New Year’s Day.
Authorities are investigating possible links between the two attacks but repeatedly called the Vegas explosion an “isolated incident.”
Here’s what we know:
How the incident unfolded
The Cybertruck was rented in Colorado and arrived in Las Vegas at 7:30 a.m. Wednesday morning, McMahill said.
About an hour later, after driving up and down Las Vegas Boulevard, the truck arrived at the Trump Hotel and detonated, according to authorities.
Surveillance footage captured the driver passing the Trump Hotel about an hour before the explosion. The driver is then seen circling back and stopping in front of the hotel just moments before the car blast, according to a law enforcement official involved in the investigation.
A CCTV video shown by the police captured the moment the truck exploded. In related social media footage, the vehicle is engulfed in smoke while being doused with water.
During a news conference, police shared footage revealing scorched gasoline containers and firework mortars found among the wreckage of the heavily burned truck.