Headline Roundup • January 1st, 2025
Tesla Cybertruck Explodes Outside Trump Hotel in Las Vegas
Summary from the AllSides News Team
Authorities believe the explosion was deliberately triggered by its driver.
The Details: A Tesla Cybertruck parked in front of the Trump Hotel in Las Vegas was engulfed in flames Wednesday morning. Las Vegas police said security footage showed fuel containers and fireworks in the vehicle that were likely detonated by an occupant, who burned to death. Seven people were minorly injured. A few hours later, Elon Musk said Tesla had "confirmed" the explosion was caused by a bomb and "unrelated to the vehicle itself."
The Investigation: CNN (Lean Left bias) and ABC News (Lean Left) cited anonymous sources who said the incident is being investigated as a possible act of terrorism. A law enforcement source told ABC the Cybertruck was rented on Turo, the same app used to rent the pickup truck that slammed into a crowd in New Orleans earlier Wednesday, though no direct link between the attacks has been established.
How the Media Covered It: There were few partisan differences in Wednesday's national media coverage of the incident; outlets on the left, right, and center straightforwardly relayed facts with little commentary. Some local outlets took interest in the rental app involved in both of Wednesday's attacks, noting it allows people to "rent out their cars without even seeing the renter."
Featured Coverage of this Story
Police say gas containers and “firework mortars” were visible in the bed of a Tesla Cybertruck that exploded outside the Trump Hotel in Las Vegas early Wednesday, killing the vehicle’s occupant—an unexplained incident police are reportedly probing as a possible terrorist act, just hours after a truck attack in New Orleans.
Getty Images/Alcides Antunes
One person is dead and seven others were injured when a Tesla Cybertruck exploded in front of Trump International Hotel Las Vegas on Wednesday morning, according to officials.
The Las Vegas Police Department is investigating the explosion, which occurred this morning outside the hotel, located near S. Sammy Davis Jr. Drive and Fashion Drive. Officials are also looking at the incident as potential terrorism.
Obtained by ABC News
Authorities are investigating a Tesla Cybertruck explosion on Wednesday outside the Trump Las Vegas hotel in Nevada as a possible act of terror, law enforcement officials said.
Sheriff Kevin McMahill of the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department told reporters that investigators were looking into any possible connections to the deadly attack in New Orleans earlier Wednesday but had not yet discovered any.
