Las Vegas Cybertruck Explosion: Active-Duty Soldier Identified as Driver
Matthew Alan Livelsberger, a 37-year-old active-duty US special forces soldier from Colorado Springs, Colorado, has been identified as the driver of the Tesla Cybertruck that exploded outside the Trump Hotel in Las Vegas on New Year’s Day. Livelsberger’s cause of death was determined to be a self-inflicted gunshot wound, according to the Clark County Coroner’s office.
The incident occurred when Livelsberger drove the rented Cybertruck to the hotel and parked it near the glass entrance. The vehicle started smoking and then exploded, injuring seven people, all with minor injuries. The Cybertruck’s design helped contain the explosion, directing the blast upward rather than outward, and preventing the nearby glass doors and windows from shattering.
Authorities have yet to determine the motive behind the incident, but Sheriff Kevin McMahill stated that it’s being investigated as a suicide followed by a bombing. Investigators found a military ID, passport, firearms, and other personal belongings in Livelsberger’s name at the scene.
Livelsberger had a decorated military career, serving in both the Army and National Guard, and was a Special Forces Intelligence Sergeant. He was on approved leave from his deployment in Germany at the time of the incident. His father reported that Livelsberger was visiting his wife and eight-month-old daughter in Colorado and seemed normal when they last spoke at Christmas.
There are some parallels between this incident and the truck attack in New Orleans, which occurred on the same day and left 14 people dead. Both suspects served at Fort Bragg in North Carolina and used the same rental company, Turo, for the vehicles involved. However, authorities have found no definitive link between the two incidents
