Donald Trump has broken his silence on the Tesla Cybertruck explosion outside his Las Vegas hotel, vowing to rid America of ‘violent scum.’
Army veteran Matthew Livelsberger is allegedly the man who filled the truck with explosives and fuel before driving it to the Trump Hotel in Las Vegas and setting them off on Wednesday morning, killing himself and leaving seven people injured.
The president-elect took to his social media platform, Truth Social, to excoriate the security and justice establishment.
He wrote in a post: ‘Our Country is a disaster, a laughing stock all over the World! This is what happens when you have OPEN BORDERS, with weak, ineffective, and virtually nonexistent leadership.
‘The DOJ, FBI, and Democrat state and local prosecutors have not done their job. They are incompetent and corrupt, having spent all of their waking hours unlawfully attacking their political opponent, ME, rather than focusing on protecting Americans from the outside and inside violent SCUM that has infiltrated all aspects of our government, and our Nation itself.
‘Democrats should be ashamed of themselves for allowing this to happen to our Country. The CIA must get involved, NOW, before it is too late. The USA is breaking down – A violent erosion of Safety, National Security, and Democracy is taking place all across our Nation.
‘Only strength and powerful leadership will stop it. See you on January 20th. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!’
Mere hours earlier in New Orleans, Shamsud Din Jabbar, 42, drove an electric vehicle into crowds, killing 15 pedestrians and injuring dozens more.
Army veteran Matthew Livelsberger is allegedly the man who filled the truck with explosives and fuel before driving it to the Trump Hotel in Las Vegas and setting them off on Wednesday morning
Officers shared a series of photographs taken from inside the car, revealing fireworks, gas tanks and camping fuel were in the bed of the truck
Law enforcement sources have since revealed the cars used in both attacks were rented through Turo, and they were both EVs, prompting concerns they are linked.
Police revealed on Wednesday afternoon that they are currently investigating potential links and have not ruled anything out yet.
‘Do I think it’s a coincidence? I don’t know,’ Sheriff Kevin McMahill said. ‘We’re absolutely looking into any connections to New Orleans.’
Earlier Wednesday, Melania Trump took to X to urge the country to ‘strive for a future where peace prevails’ after the two separate incidents just hours apart.
The former and future first lady denounced the New Year’s Day violence saying: ‘The incidents of violence that have impacted our communities are deeply concerning. The brutality must stop,’ Melania wrote.
‘My heartfelt thoughts and prayers are with the families who are experiencing such profound grief and loss.’
In a bombshell press conference, officers investigating the incident revealed the Cybertruck was hired from Turo in Colorado and driven across the border into Nevada at 7.30am Wednesday. The explosion took place just an hour later.
Melania Trump did not confirm in her X post whether the explosion was a terrorist attack like speculated by Elon Musk
‘The incidents of violence that have impacted our communities are deeply concerning. The brutality must stop,’ Melania wrote
A spokesperson for Turo later issued a statement describing the company’s heartbreak ‘by the violence perpetrated in New Orleans and Las Vegas, and our prayers are with the victims and families.
‘We are actively partnering with law enforcement authorities as they investigate both incidents. We do not believe that either renter involved in the Las Vegas and New Orleans attacks had a criminal background that would have identified them as a security threat.’
Officers shared a series of photographs taken from inside the car, revealing fireworks, gas tanks and camping fuel were in the bed of the truck.
They are still exploring how the explosives were detonated, but sources with knowledge of the investigation have expressed that it was likely controlled by the driver.
The driver’s remains are ‘still in the truck as we speak today,’ McMahill said.
Officers have also considered the driver may have purposefully chosen to use a car owned by Musk to send a message, given Musk’s newfound friendship with President-elect Donald Trump.
Fireworks, gas tanks and camping fuel were in the bed of the car, and were likely connected to a detonation system controlled by the driver
Fireworks, gas tanks and camping fuel were in the bed of the car, and were likely connected to a detonation system controlled by the driver
A Cybertruck – made by Trump ally Elon Musk’s company Tesla – was seen in a fiery blaze outside the front revolving doors of the Trump International Hotel on Wednesday
‘It’s a Tesla truck, we know Elon Musk is working with President-elect Trump and it’s the Trump hotel, so there’s obviously something to look at,’ he said.
But the driver’s decision to send a message using the Cybertruck may have actually been a small silver lining in the tragedy. Authorities echoed a comment made earlier today by Musk that the structure of the Cybertruck contained the explosives.
‘The fact this was a Cybertruck really limited the damage,’ McMahill said.
‘It made most of the damage go up rather than out. The front glass doors at the Trump Hotel were not even broken by that blast.’
Hours earlier, Musk had said: ‘Cybertruck is the worst possible choice for a car bomb, as its stainless steel armor will contain the blast better than any other commercial vehicle.’
Wednesday’s Cybertruck explosion is ‘likely an act of terrorism’, Musk said earlier, occuring just hours after the New Orleans tragedy which left 15 people dead.
The $80,000 car was seen in a fiery blaze outside the front revolving doors of the hotel, killing one and injuring seven at around 8.40am.
The hotel, owned by the Trump family, was seen with a large cloud of smoke near it. The cause of the explosion is currently unknown
By Wednesday afternoon, Musk revealed the explosion was caused by ‘a bomb carried in the bed of the rented Cybertruck’ or ‘very large fireworks.’
He said the explosion was not caused by or related to the vehicle itself, and it’s understood the unnamed driver had rented the truck using Turo.
‘Law enforcement currently believes it was most likely intentional,’ he added.
‘Both this Cybertruck and the F-150 suicide bomb in New Orleans were rented from Turo. Perhaps they are linked in some way.’
Musk said ‘Tesla vehicles transmit their state of health continuously,’ meaning his team were able to check whether anything was wrong with the car’s mechanics prior to the explosion.
Sheriff McMahill thanked Musk for his efforts in assisting the investigation, turning over data to authorities along with access to CCTV from Tesla charging stations across the nation.