Las Vegas Cybertruck Blast at Trump Hotel Leaves Questions Unanswered

US law enforcement agencies are looking for clues to solve the mystery of the Tesla car that exploded outside the Trump International Hotel in Las Vegas earlier this week, leaving seven people with minor injuries.

The man who rented the Cybertruck — then drove it into town and parked it in front of the hotel — has been identified as Matthew Alan Livelsberger, a 37-year-old active-duty US Special Forces soldier.

Police found his lifeless body inside a burnt-out Tesla with a self-inflicted gunshot wound. They also found fuel canisters and more than a dozen mortars in the back of the car.

A heavy police presence remained at the hotel, located off a busy strip of Las Vegas, Thursday. Yellow police tape cordoned off a small section of the hotel’s entrance while officers worked to repair damage to the facade.

Authorities continue to work and gather information, and many questions remain.

For example, it is not clear why Livelsberger rented the car – whether the perpetrator intended to make a political statement ahead of Donald Trump’s return to the White House later this month.

One of the biggest unanswered questions is why Livelsberger rented a Tesla and drove it more than 800 miles (1,300 km) from Colorado to Las Vegas.

Las Vegas police said he rented the car Dec. 28 in Denver. They were able to track his movements using photos taken on the drive and information from Tesla’s charging technology. According to them, he was the only one seen driving.

The vehicle arrived in the city on Wednesday morning, less than two hours before the blast, police said.

Las Vegas Sheriff Kevin McMahill said Thursday that a body was found in the vehicle. He was burned beyond recognition, but the county coroner used DNA and dental records to confirm Livelsberger was in Cybertruck at the time of the explosion. He was found with a moonshot gunshot wound to the head.

“I’m comfortable calling it a suicide with the explosion immediately following,” Sheriff McMahill said. He added that the motive for the incident has not been established.

Another big question is whether the blast was intended as a statement ahead of the change of US president later this month.

Police found no evidence linking the alleged perpetrator to any particular political beliefs, but they said they were investigating whether the incident was related to the fact that President-elect Donald Trump owns a hotel, or that Elon Musk drives a Tesla.

Trump recently appointed Musk to co-chair the Department of Government Efficiency’s Presidential Advisory Commission after the two became close during Trump’s campaign.

“We made no mistake that it was in front of the Trump building and that it was a Tesla car,” Spencer Evans, an FBI agent based in Las Vegas, said Thursday.

“But at this point, we don’t have any information that clearly tells us or suggests that (the incident) was because of a certain ideology,” he said.

The explosion came just hours after a man drove a pickup truck into New Year’s Eve revelers on busy Bourbon Street in New Orleans, Louisiana, killing 14 people and injuring dozens.

That attacker has been identified as Shamsud-Din Jabbar, a 42-year-old US citizen who also served in the US military.

President Joe Biden said investigators are looking into whether the two incidents are related, though nothing has yet been found to suggest they are.

But the question continues to be fueled by the apparent similarities between the two incidents and some biographical details of the drivers of both vehicles.

Both incidents took place on New Year’s Eve. Both served in the U.S. military — including at Fort Liberty (formerly Fort Bragg) in North Carolina — and both completed tours in Afghanistan. Both men also rented the vehicles they used through a mobile car rental app called Turo.

However, police said there was no evidence the two men were in the same unit or served at Fort Liberty at the same time. Although both were deployed to Afghanistan in 2009, there is no evidence that they served in the same province, location or unit.

During the New Orleans attack, police recovered an Islamic State (IS) flag from the car Jabbar was driving. They added that he posted videos on social media moments before pledging allegiance to the group. Police determined that Jabbar acted alone.

Meanwhile, there is no evidence in Las Vegas that Livelsberger was motivated by IS or that he and Jabbar were ever in contact. Police said the investigation was ongoing.

Livelsberger was a decorated special forces intelligence sergeant serving in Germany but was on leave at the time of the incident.

His father told the American partner of the BBC CBS News that his son was in Colorado to see his wife and eight-month-old daughter.

He said he last spoke to his son on Christmas Day and everything seemed fine.

The Daily Beast reported that Livelsberger was a “huge” Trump supporter. A senior law enforcement official who spoke with Livelsberger’s family told the publication that Livelsberger voted for Trump in the November election.

His uncle told The Independent that Leavelsberger loved Trump “and he was always a very, very patriotic soldier, a patriotic American.”