Police have released a series of photographs from inside the Cybertruck which blew up outside Trump International Hotel in Las Vegas, revealing an arsenal of makeshift explosives.
The driver of the Elon Musk-owned Tesla Cybertruck, who has not yet been formally identified, died in the explosion and seven members of the public were injured.
Charred fireworks, gas cannisters and camping fuel were found in the bed of the truck when authorities were finally able to put out the fire.
Hours earlier in New Orleans, Shamsud Din Jabbar, 42, drove an electric vehicle into crowds, killing 15 pedestrians and injuring dozens more.
Law enforcement sources have since revealed the cars used in both attacks were rented through Turo, and they were both EVs, prompting concerns they are linked.
Police revealed on Wednesday afternoon that they are currently investigating potential links and have not ruled anything out yet.
‘Do I think it’s a coincidence? I don’t know,’ Sheriff Kevin McMahill said. ‘We’re absolutely looking into any connections to New Orleans.’
In a bombshell press conference, officers investigating the incident revealed the Cybertruck was hired from Turo in Colorado and driven across the border into Nevada at 7.30am Wednesday. The explosion took place just an hour later.
Police have released a series of photographs from inside the Cybertruck which blew up outside Trump International Hotel in Las Vegas, revealing an arsenal of explosives
Fireworks, gas tanks and camping fuel were in the bed of the car, and were likely connected to a detonation system controlled by the driver
Officers shared a series of photographs taken from inside the car, revealing fireworks, gas tanks and camping fuel were in the bed of the truck.
They are still exploring how the explosives were detonated, but sources with knowledge of the investigation have expressed that it was likely controlled by the driver.
The driver’s remains are ‘still in the truck as we speak today,’ McMahill said, adding that while they know the name of the person responsible for renting the truck, they’re not yet in a position to reveal those details to the public.
Officers have also considered the driver may have purposefully chosen to use a car owned by Musk to send a message, given Musk’s newfound friendship with President-elect Donald Trump.
‘It’s a Tesla truck, we know Elon Musk is working with President-elect Trump and it’s the Trump hotel, so there’s obviously something to look at,’ he said.
But the driver’s decision to send a message using the Cybertruck may have actually been a small silver lining in the tragedy. Authorities echoed a comment made earlier today by Musk that the structure of the Cybertruck contained the explosives.
‘The fact this was a Cybertruck really limited the damage,’ McMahill said.
‘It made most of the damage go up rather than out. The front glass doors at the Trump Hotel were not even broken by that blast.’
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Fireworks, gas tanks and camping fuel were in the bed of the car, and were likely connected to a detonation system controlled by the driver
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View gallery
A Cybertruck – made by Trump ally Elon Musk’s company Tesla – was seen in a fiery blaze outside the front revolving doors of the Trump International Hotel on Wednesday
Hours earlier, Musk had said: ‘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.’
Wednesday’s Cybertruck explosion is ‘likely an act of terrorism’, Musk said earlier, occuring just hours after the New Orleans tragedy which left 15 people dead.
The $80,000 car was seen in a fiery blaze outside the front revolving doors of the hotel, killing one and injuring seven at around 8.40am.
By Wednesday afternoon, Musk revealed the explosion was caused by ‘a bomb carried in the bed of the rented Cybertruck’ or ‘very large fireworks.’
He said the explosion was not caused by or related to the vehicle itself, and it’s understood the unnamed driver had rented the truck using Turo.
‘Law enforcement currently believes it was most likely intentional,’ he added.
‘Both this Cybertruck and the F-150 suicide bomb in New Orleans were rented from Turo. Perhaps they are linked in some way.’
Musk said ‘Tesla vehicles transmit their state of health continuously,’ meaning his team were able to check whether anything was wrong with the car’s mechanics prior to the explosion.
Surveillance footage showed the truck sitting outside the front entrance, appearing to have nothing wrong with it. Seconds later, the entire car explodes, its roof blowing up first before the truck goes flying
Sheriff McMahill thanked Musk for his efforts in assisting the investigation, turning over data to authorities along with access to CCTV from Tesla charging stations across the nation.
The incident immediately sparked fears of a coordinated terror attack as the United States was still reeling from the violence on the streets of New Orleans hours earlier.
Shamsud Din Jabbar, 42, drove a rented electric vehicle into crowds, killing 15 pedestrians and injuring dozens more as they celebrated the New Year.
The Texan-born terrorist had an ISIS flag draped on the back of the vehicle when he drove into the crowds, killing at least 15.
Jabbar, a deranged US veteran, got out of his car and started firing a weapon. Investigators later added that they found what appeared to be improvised explosives at the crash site that did not detonate.
McMahill said: ‘With the event that occurred [in New Orleans], and the victims there, and the additional IEDs, so as you can imagine, with an explosion here on our iconic Las Vegas Boulevard, we are taking all of the precautions that we need to take to keep the community safe.’
There were no overt links to ISIS in the Las Vegas attack as there were in New Orleans, but detectives have not ruled out any motive.
There is no ongoing threat to the community, McMahill said, adding that additional officers have been deployed and will remain hyper vigilant for copycat attacks.
