LAS VEGAS (AP) – A Tesla Cybertruck believed to be carrying fireworks caught fire and exploded outside President-elect Donald Trump’s Las Vegas hotel on Wednesday, killing one person and injuring seven others, authorities said. announced.
Officials with the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department and Clark County Fire Department said at a news conference that a person was killed inside a futuristic-looking pickup truck and efforts were underway to remove the body. Seven people nearby suffered minor injuries, and several were taken to the hospital.
The fire in the valet parking area of the Trump International Hotel Las Vegas was reported at 8:40 a.m., a county spokesperson said in a statement.
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Law enforcement officials said the truck appeared to have been rented through the Turo app and was carrying a large quantity of fireworks. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak publicly.
A Touro spokesperson did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk said Wednesday afternoon on We confirmed that the vehicle’s telemetry was all positive.” At the time of the explosion. ”
“Tesla’s entire senior team is currently investigating this matter. I’ve never seen anything like that.”
Law enforcement officials have not ruled out the possibility of terrorism, officials said. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to discuss details of the investigation publicly.
“We know you have a lot of questions,” Jeremy Schwartz, acting special agent in charge of the FBI’s Las Vegas office, told reporters. “I don’t really have an answer.”
President Joe Biden was briefed on the explosion. The truck explosion occurred hours after a driver plowed his truck into a crowd in New Orleans’ famous French Quarter early on New Year’s Day, killing at least 10 people before being shot dead by police.
In Las Vegas, witness Ana Bruce, who was visiting from Brazil, said she heard three explosions.
“The first time we saw the fire, the second time I think it was a battery or something, and the third time there was a big fire and the whole area went up in smoke and everyone was told to evacuate and stay away. It was a moment,’” Bruce said.
Her travel companion, Alcides Antunez, showed a video of flames spreading across the side of the silver car.
This 64-story hotel is located just off the Las Vegas Strip and across from the Fashion Show Las Vegas shopping mall.
Eric Trump, the president-elect’s son and executive vice president of the Trump Organization, posted about the fire on social media platform X, praising the “quick response and professionalism” of the fire department and local police.
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Associated Press writers Colleen Long and Zeke Miller in Washington contributed to this report.
