By Ricardo Lezama 
Earlier today, Las Vegas authorities confirmed that a Tesla Cybertruck exploded outside of Trump International Hotel leaving one dead and seven wounded. Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Sheriff Kevin McMahill reported that the truck was rented in Colorado, its movements traced by charging station records.
The Las Vegas sheriff’s office confirmed the explosion was deliberate, with the detonator discovered inside the vehicle. The driver, who is now deceased, was identified, but officials are not yet prepared to release his identity. The FBI is also involved in the investigation. Las Vegas police expressed their gratitude to Tesla CEO, Elon Musk, for swiftly providing necessary information about the explosion. NBC has reported that the same rental service, Turo, was used in both the Las Vegas incident and a separate deadly truck attack in New Orleans.
The simultaneous occurrence of these events has led to investigations into potential connections between the two incidences. President Joe Biden mentioned both incidents in his comments on Wednesday, acknowledging concerns about a possible link. Questions have been raised over the nature of the Las Vegas event, centering on whether the explosion was due to terrorism or an accident caused by the Cybertruck’s nature.
The answer will undoubtedly impact both Tesla’s reputation and ongoing investigations into potential terrorism in the United States. In a press conference, Las Vegas police announced that the explosion did not originate from a vehicle malfunction while social media reports (and Musk’s comments) link the explosion instead to fireworks. Media speculation has now shifted to the involvement of the Tesla Cybertruck and Musk himself in these events as it reveals that information from both Turo and Tesla can easily be shared with Law Enforcement with no perceivable difference in their performance.