The Las Vegas police department thank Tesla CEO Elon Musk for his involvement in the aftermath of a cybertruck explosion near Trump Tower on New Year’s Day.
Police noted that the attack could have been worse, but due to the vehicle’s robust construction, it contained the explosion, with only several bystanders suffering minor injuries. Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Sheriff Kevin McMahill told reporters at a press briefing that the truck’s exterior directed the blast upwards, not outwards.
“I have to thank Elon Musk specifically. He gave us quite a bit of additional information,” McMahill said at Wednesday’s briefing.
“The fact that this was a Cybertruck really limited the damage that occurred inside of the valet because it had most of the blast. Up and out,” McMahill said. He added that Musk assisted authorities by providing surveillance footage from charging stations to track the suspect. “He sent that directly to us, so I appreciate his help,” McMahill said. Musk used this opportunity to share how the explosion was evidence of the durability of his Tesla truck. The cybertruck was built with special-grade stainless steel, impervious to many forms of damage. “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,” Musk wrote in a post on X.
The damaged truck exploded in the drop-off area near the entrance of the hotel
The tech billionaire also posted updates while the investigation unfolded, including suggesting that large fireworks or a bomb inside the rented vehicle caused the explosion, clarifying it was “unrelated to the vehicle itself.” Musk wrote: “All vehicle telemetry was positive at the time of the explosion. The whole Tesla senior team is investigating this matter right now. We’ve never seen anything like this.”
US President-elect Donald Trump recently appointed Musk as the lead of the federal Department of Government Efficiency, rewarding him with a position in his administration after Musk backed him during the election. However, authorities have not confirmed if there was a political motivation behind the bombing.
The truck blow-up occurred hours after a driver plowed into a crowd in New Orleans’ famed French Quarter on New Year’s Day, resulting in at least 15 deaths before the perpetrator was shot dead by police. President Joe Biden has stated that officials are probing “any possible connection” between the two events.