Matthew Livelsberger shot self before Cybertruck exploded, officials say

Army soldier in Tesla Cybertruck explosion outside Trump hotel in Vegas shot himself before detonation, authorities say.

The highly decorated Army soldier inside a Tesla Cybertruck packed with fireworks that exploded outside Trump International Hotel in Las Vegas shot himself in the head just before detonation, authorities said Thursday, January 2, 2025.

The explosion caused minor injuries to seven people but virtually no damage to the hotel. Clark County Sheriff Kevin McMahill said Matthew Livelsberger, a 37-year-old Green Beret, likely planned a more damaging attack but the steel-sided vehicle absorbed much of the force from the crudely built explosive.

Damage from the blast was mostly limited to the interior of the truck because the explosion “vented out and up” and didn’t hit the Trump hotel doors just a few feet away, the sheriff said.

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“The level of sophistication is not what we would expect from an individual with this type of military experience,” said Kenny Cooper, a special agent in charge for the the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.

Authorities are still working to determine a motive.

“It’s not lost on us that it’s in front of the Trump building, that it’s a Tesla vehicle, but we don’t have information at this point that definitively tells us or suggests it was because of this particular ideology,” said Spencer Evans, the Las Vegas FBI’s special agent in charge.