Cybertruck blew up in front of Trump hotel in Las Vegas. Those are our luggage by the door and that’s where we were when it happened. pic.twitter.com/KaVZXfGLNK
Videos circulating on social media show the Cybertruck exploding while parked in front of the hotel, sending debris flying in all directions. A video that appears to have been taken from inside the hotel lobby shows additional explosions from within the burning Cybertruck. Reports have circulated online that the truck may have been filled with fireworks, though they remain unconfirmed.
Authorities said updates on the incident would follow.
— ayackle (@kaaaassuu) January 1, 2025
“We have now confirmed that the explosion was caused by very large fireworks and/or a bomb carried in the bed of the rented Cybertruck and is unrelated to the vehicle itself,” he said. “All vehicle telemetry was positive at the time of the explosion.”
Law enforcement agents evacuated guests from the hotel, relocating them to the nearby Resorts World Las Vegas, McMahill said.
The identity of the deceased person is currently unknown, but they were in the Cybertruck as it exploded. Seven other people were hospitalized with what were reported as minor injuries, McMahill added.
The Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department (LVMPD) received a report of the incident at about 8:40 a.m. local time, LVMPD Sheriff Kevin McMahill told reporters. Smoke rose from the vehicle, followed by a “large explosion,” he said.
The explosion occurred hours after a driver plowed his Ford pickup truck into a festive crowd ahead of a college football game in New Orleans, Louisiana. The Federal Bureau of Investigation identified the driver as Shamsud-Din Jabbar, 42, a U.S. citizen from Texas. Investigators found an ISIS flag, weapons, and what appeared to be an improvised explosive device (IED) in the vehicle, the FBI said. (RELATED: Fmr FBI Asst Director Warns Terrorists Are ‘Well Embedded’ In US, Says Alert Should Be ‘Higher’ Than Current Level)