Matthew Livelsberger, 37, the suspect alleged to have placed a bomb in a Tesla Cybertruck outside Donald Trump’s Las Vegas hotel, was a longtime US Army member and a married man. Livelsberger, a Colorado Springs resident, was on leave from active duty when he died in the car explosion on Wednesday morning.
The electric vehicle exploded about 15 seconds after the driver pulled up in front of the hotel’s entrance, instantly killing Livelsberger and wounding seven others.
The deceased was a decorated army member who had previously received a Meritorious Honor Award for his work benefiting the US Embassy in Tajikistan. According to the Daily Mail, he was even profiled for his work in Afghanistan in a local Ohio newspaper, where he reportedly grew up.
Married to social worker Sara Livelsberger, the couple bought a home and settled in Colorado Springs despite being stationed in Germany.
His wife told officials she hadn’t heard from her husband for several days leading up to the bombing. Livelsberger is believed to have rented the Tesla Cybertruck and driven it across Nevada. Law enforcement officials also revealed that he had previously served at the same military base as New Orleans terrorist Shamsud Din Jabbar. However, police have yet to confirm the two knew each other.
The 37-year-old had served in the Army for 19 years and held an intelligence and operations role within the special forces. While he had a limited social media presence besides his LinkedIn account, his wife was quite the opposite. She was active on several platforms, is a registered Democrat, and strongly opposes Trump and his administration.
She hasn’t posted since 2016 and has not been tied to the Tesla bombing. Her husband had rented the cyber truck and detonated fireworks, engulfing the vehicle in flames near the Trump Hotel.
The truck explosion came only hours after a driver, 42-year-old Shamsud-Din Bahar Jabbar, rammed a truck into a crowd in New Orleans’ famed French Quarter early on New Year’s Day, killing at least 15 people before being shot to death by police.
A property in Colorado Springs linked to Livelsberger is currently under FBI investigation, with armored vehicles and tactical agents observed outside. It has emerged that the vehicles used in the deadly incidents in New Orleans and the Trump International Hotel were both rented from the same carsharing platform, Turo.
The company confirmed it’s “actively partnering with law enforcement authorities as they investigate both incidents.” They stated: “We do not believe that either renter involved in the Las Vegas and New Orleans attacks had a criminal background that would have identified them as a security threat.”
Officials have also suggested that Livelsberger may have purposefully chosen to use a car owned by Elon Musk to send a message – given the tech billionaire’s close relationship with President-elect Donald Trump.
The blast was caused by “a bomb carried in the bed of the rented Cybertruck’ or ‘very large fireworks,” said Tesla CEO Elon Musk following the incident.
In a bid to save Tesla’s reputation, he added that the explosion was not caused by or related to the vehicle itself, and it’s understood that Livelsberger had rented the truck using Turo.
“Law enforcement currently believes it was most likely intentional,” he added.
Meanwhile, Donald Trump used the opportunity to take a swipe at Democrats.
“Democrats should be ashamed of themselves for allowing this to happen to our Country. The CIA must get involved, NOW, before it is too late. The USA is breaking down – A violent erosion of Safety, National Security, and Democracy is taking place all across our Nation,” he wrote on Truth Social.
“Only strength and powerful leadership will stop it. See you on January 20th. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!”