Authorities are investigating possible links to terrorism and the identity of the man killed in the explosion.
The images have already gone around the world. Hours after the car-ramming attack in New Orleans, a Tesla Cybertruck exploded late Wednesday near the Trump Hotel in Las Vegas, injuring seven people outside.
Forensic investigators say the back of the futuristic-looking van was stuffed with fireworks mortars and cans of gasoline.
Authorities said the person who rented the van using the Turo app in Colorado is known to them as Matthew Livelsbergeraged 37.
The man who was killed in the explosion was from Colorado Springs and was a veteran of the military with 10 years of service.
According to the American television channel ABC, he would have served in the same military base as Shamsud-Din Jabbarthe author of the New Year’s car ramming massacre in New Orleans.
For the moment no official confirmation in this sense, but on Wednesday investigators and intelligence began working on a possible link between the two attacks.
Authorities are also investigating a potential link to terrorism.
Videos captured at Telsa charging stations provided by CEO Elon Musk helped authorities track the vehicle’s journey. He arrived in Las Vegas around 7:30 a.m. local time and went about an hour later to the valet area of the Trump International Hotel, where he stayed for 15 to 20 seconds before the explosion does not happen.
Musk: explosion not linked to vehicle
Tesla boss Elon Musk immediately took charge of communication regarding the electric vehicle, saying the explosion was not accidental. He declared on Wednesday afternoon on X: “We have now confirmed that the explosion was caused by very large fireworks and/or a bomb carried in the trunk of the rented Cybertruck and is not related to the vehicle itself. All telemetry of the vehicle was positive at the time of the explosion.”
The billionaire recently became a member of Donald Trump’s inner circle. He attended New Year’s Eve at the president-elect’s Mar-a-Lago estate, a party which Donald Trump did not attend.