A Tesla Cybertruck That Burned at Trump Tower was Rented to a U.S. Army Green Beret, Officials Say
The person who rented the Tesla Cybertruck that exploded outside the entrance of Trump Tower in Las Vegas has been identified as Matthew Alan Livelsberger, an active-duty member of the U.S. Army’s elite special forces unit. Two U.S. defense officials confirmed that the truck was rented to Livelsberger, although it was unclear whether he was the one killed inside the vehicle when it erupted into flames on Wednesday morning.
Livelsberger, who served in the National Guard and the Army Reserve, was assigned to the U.S. Army Special Operations Command and was on approved leave at the time of the incident. Federal law enforcement agents searched a residence in Colorado Springs, Colorado, connected to the case, but no motive had been established by Thursday.
The incident is being investigated as a possible terrorist attack, although three senior law enforcement members said there was no definitive link to a terrorist organization at this point. The blast occurred hours after a driver in a rented pickup truck crashed into New Year’s Eve revelers on Bourbon Street in New Orleans, killing 14 people and injuring over 30 others before being shot dead by police.
The FBI’s deputy assistant director of the counterterrorism division said there was no definitive link between the two attacks, while officials from the rental company, Turo, said the renter involved in the Las Vegas and New Orleans attacks had no known criminal background. The explosion damaged the exterior of the Trump International Hotel, injuring seven bystanders, and prompting a response from Tesla CEO Elon Musk, who helped track the route of the vehicle and provided video showing it at Tesla charging stations.
The incident remains under investigation, with no definitive explanation for the explosion yet provided.