1 dead in Las Vegas Tesla Cybertruck blast, Elon Musk hints at New Orleans link
AMERICA,JAN 2 : A Tesla Cybertruck burst into flames outside the Trump International Hotel in Las Vegas in the US on Wednesday, killing the driver and injuring seven others. The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) said that they are investigating whether the explosion was an act of terrorism.
The incident occurred just hours after a man drove a truck into crowds of New Year’s Day revellers in New Orleans and opened fire, killing 15, which is also suspected to be a terrorist act. US President Joe Biden said the FBI is probing any possible link between the two incidents.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk alleged a connection between the Cybertruck explosion and New Orleans attack, as both vehicles were rented from the same car rental site. “Appears likely to be an act of terrorism. Both this Cybertruck and the F-150 suicide bomb in New Orleans were rented from Turo. Perhaps they are linked in some way,” Musk tweeted.
On Wednesday, the Cybertruck pulled up to the Trump building at 8.40 am local time and exploded within minutes, killing the driver and injuring seven. Videos recorded by witnesses inside and outside the hotel showed the vehicle exploding and flames pouring out of it. The police discovered firework mortars and camp fuel canisters stuffed into the back of the vehicle.
The truck bed walls and glass particles remained intact as the blast was directed upward rather than outward. Referring to this, Musk quipped that the terrorist had “chosen the wrong vehicle” for the act. He also shared a post saying police credited the lack of damage to the hotel to the strength of the Cybertruck.
“The evil knuckleheads picked the wrong vehicle for a terrorist attack. Cybertruck actually contained the explosion and directed the blast upwards. Not even the glass doors of the lobby were broken,” he said.
In another post, Musk said, “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. All vehicle telemetry was positive at the time of the explosion”.
The Tesla CEO added that his entire senior team was investigating the explosion, adding, “We’ve never seen anything like this”.
A senior FBI officer said that the agency’s “number one goal is to ensure that we have the proper identification of the subject involved in this incident”. “Following that, our second objective is to determine whether this was an act of terrorism or not,” he added.
FBI officials said that they have identified the driver of the vehicle, which was rented in Colorado, but his identity has not been disclosed publicly.
Las Vegas Police said that there was no further threat to the community and urged the public to avoid the area.
“At approximately 8.40 am, reports were received of a vehicle explosion. One person inside the Cyber Truck was killed, and seven others were injured. Authorities have confirmed there is no further threat to the community. The public is urged to avoid the immediate area around the explosion site,” the officer said in a briefing.
The Trump Hotel was evacuated after the incident and most of the visitors were moved to another hotel.
-PTI
