Amid the ongoing investigation in the New Orleans attack during the New Year celebration, Tesla CEO Elon Musk on Wednesday (local time) claimed that there is a connection between the explosion of a Cybertruck outside the Trump International Hotel in Las Vegas and a similar attack in New Orleans, as both vehicles were rented from the same car rental site, Turo.
Elon Musk took to the social media platform X and alleged, “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.”
The explosion in Las Vegas left one person dead and injured seven others, according to a CNN report. The Tesla CEO clarified on X that the explosion was caused by fireworks or a bomb carried in the bed of the rented Cybertruck, not by the vehicle itself.
He also noted that the truck had been rented from Turo, allegedly at a connection with the New Orleans attack, where, according to CNN, a suspect rammed into a crowd during New Year’s celebrations with a Ford F-150 Lightning electric truck rented from the same site. “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,” Musk wrote on X.
Las Vegas Sheriff Kevin McMahill said a vehicle fire was reported at the hotel just after 8:40 am. Crews arrived to find a 2024 Cybertruck engulfed in flames, he said, news agency ANI reported, citing CNN. “There is one deceased individual inside the Cybertruck, and I don’t know whether it is a male or a female at this time,” McMahill said.
Jeremy Schwartz, acting special agent in charge of the FBI in Las Vegas, also confirmed that his team is involved in the investigation. According to US officials, the explosives contained in the Cybertruck were fireworks, gas tanks, and camping fuel, which were connected to a detonation system controlled by the driver, CNN reported. Authorities are exploring any connection between the explosion and the attack in New Orleans, where a suspect rammed into a crowd with a truck rented on Turo, killing 15 people.
