US law enforcement officials may have found a concrete link between a horrific terrorist ramming attack in New Orleans and a Tesla cybertruck explosion at the entrance to the Trump Las Vegas Hotel.
Both attackers used the Turo car sharing app to rent their respective vehicles, and both had previous military experience; sources quoted by Colorado media say the two men shared a connection via the military.
The individual who rented the cybertruck in Colorado Springs was identified by local media as 37-year-old Matthew Livelsberger. According to a report by CNN, he was an active-duty US soldier from the 10th Special Forces Group, holding the rank of Master Sergeant. Three officials told CNN the soldier was on leave from an active duty assignment in Germany at the time he rented the cybertruck.
The New York Post reported that Livelsberger was last stationed at Camp Panzer Kaserne just southwest of Stuttgart, Germany, where he worked as a remote and autonomous systems manager for the Army responsible for “operations, maintenance and integration” of drones in the military.
Shamsud-Din Jabbar, the New Orleans terrorist, was a veteran who served in Afghanistan in addition to other deployments.
According to a report from ABC affiliate Denver 7, Jabbar and Livelsberger alleged both served at Fort Bragg military base.
Media outlets in Colorado reported early Thursday morning that Livelsberger was behind the wheel when the explosives in the cybertruck were detonated, according to The Independent, quoting “multiple informed sources” cited by Denver 7 and KOAA News as saying Livelsberger died in the blast.
Police have not yet officially confirmed the cybertruck driver’s identity.
Both attacks took place within a few hours on Wednesday as Americans across the country celebrated the secular new year.
2 Israelis Among Dozens Injured, 15 Dead in New Orleans Terror Attack
Fifteen people were killed in New Orleans and at least 30 others were wounded, including two police officers and two Israeli citizens when Jabbar, a radicalized US Army veteran born in Texas, rammed his vehicle into a crowd of celebrants on Bourbon Street in the iconic French Quarter. A search of the vehicle uncovered a black ISIS flag, weapons and several IEDS. At least two other bombs were found planted around the area as well.
New Year’s truck attack in New Orleans.
Car-ramming attacks in Israel.
The terror is the same terror.
The hate is the same hate.
It’s time to wake up.
Israel is on the frontlines of this battle. The West is next!— Gideon Sa'ar | גדעון סער (@gidonsaar) January 2, 2025
Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar pointed out the similarities between the attack by Jabbar and terrorist ramming attacks in Israel. The two Israeli nationals injured in the New Orleans attack were still being maintained on life support as of Thursday morning local time.
Several hours after the attack in New Orleans, a Tesla cybertruck exploded outside the Trump International Hotel in Las Vegas, killing the driver and wounding seven others as huge flames shot up into the air.
Investigators found firework mortars along with gas and fuel cannisters piled into the back of the cybertruck following the explosion. The driver did not exit the vehicle and was killed in the blast.
“Obviously, a cybertruck, the Trump Hotel — there’s lots of questions that we have to answer,” Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Sheriff Kevin McMahill told reporters at a Wednesday afternoon briefing.
President-elect Donald Trump is set to enter the White House on January 20, 2025 for his second four-year term. One of Trump’s strongest supporters has been Tesla CEO Elon Musk, who has been appointed to co-lead the newly-formed Department of Government Efficiency in the new administration.
The FBI has not officially labeled the incident a terrorist attack.
“We’re tracking the explosion of a Cybertruck outside the Trump Hotel in Las Vegas. Law enforcement and the intelligence community are investigating this as well, including whether there’s any possible connection with the attack in New Orleans,” President Joe Biden said in a statement from the White House.
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. https://t.co/MM6ehJO3SG
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) 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,” Musk said in a separate statement.
“All vehicle telemetry was positive at the time of the explosion.”
Musk added in a post on the X social media platform, which he also owns, that “the whole Tesla senior team is investigating this matter right now. Will post more information as soon as we learn anything. We’ve never seen anything like this.”
In a subsequent post, Musk wrote, “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.”
Police credited the design and strength of the Tesla vehicle, which remained mostly intact despite the huge explosion, with the lack of serious damage to the hotel.
Law Enforcement Officials are claiming that because the Suspect used a Tesla Cybertruck in their Attack earlier today against the Trump Hotel & Casino on the Las Vegas Strip, which has 1.4mm Body Panels and 1.8mm Door Panels, the Explosion only caused Minimal Damage; with even… pic.twitter.com/3aBWrA8hfC
— OSINTdefender (@sentdefender) January 2, 2025
McMahill said Musk assisted investigators by having the cybertruck unlocked after it auto-locked in the conflagration. The Tesla CEO also provided video footage of the suspect at charging stations along the route from Colorado to Las Vegas.
FBI and Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) agents were conducting searches in Colorado Springs, where the vehicle was rented, in connection with the explosion.
