LAS VEGAS — One particular person died and 7 others have been injured Wednesday when a Tesla Cybertruck that gave the impression to be carrying fireworks caught hearth and exploded outdoors President-elect Donald Trump’s Las Vegas resort, authorities mentioned.
The hearth within the valet space of the Trump Worldwide Lodge Las Vegas was reported at 8:40 a.m., a county spokeswoman mentioned in a press release.
In line with a regulation enforcement official, the truck was rented through the Turo app and appeared to have a load of fireworks. The official spoke on situation of anonymity as a result of they weren’t approved to talk publicly.
Regulation enforcement officers haven’t dominated out terrorism as a doable motive, an individual acquainted with the matter mentioned. The particular person spoke on situation of anonymity as a result of they weren’t approved to publicly focus on particulars of the investigation.
“I know you have a lot of questions,” Jeremy Schwartz, appearing particular agent in cost for the FBI’s Las Vegas workplace, informed reporters. “We don’t have a lot of answers.”
President Joe Biden was briefed on the explosion. The truck explosion got here hours after a driver rammed a truck right into a crowd in New Orleans’ famed French Quarter early on New Yr’s Day, killing no less than 10 folks earlier than being shot to demise by police.
“The whole Tesla senior team is investigating this matter right now,” Tesla CEO Elon Musk wrote in a press release on X, including: “We’ve never seen anything like this.”
In Las Vegas, witness Ana Bruce, visiting from Brazil, mentioned she heard three explosions.
“The first one where we saw the fire, the second one, I guess, was the battery or something like that, and the third was the big one that smoked the entire area and was the moment when everyone was told to evacuate and stay away,” Bruce mentioned.
Her journey companion, Alcides Antunes, confirmed video he took of flames lapping the perimeters of the silver-colored car.
The 64-story resort is simply off the Las Vegas Strip and throughout the road from the Vogue Present Las Vegas shopping center.
Eric Trump, a son of the president-elect and government vp of the Trump Group, posted in regards to the hearth on the social media platform X. He praised the fireplace division and native regulation enforcement “for their swift response and professionalism.”