A Tesla cybertruck explosion outside one of Donald Trump’s US hotels is being investigated as a potential terror attack.

The driver, who was inside the rented vehicle when it caught fire, died in the incident on New Year’s Day and seven other people suffered minor injuries.

Work is still under way to remove the driver’s body from the vehicle.

The blast happened as the truck was just outside the president-elect’s hotel in Las Vegas, police and fire officials said.

Tesla is owned by tech billionaire Elon Musk who has been a close ally of Mr Trump – donating millions to his successful 2024 US election campaign. He was also tasked with leading Mr Trump’s Department of Government Efficiency.

The blast in Las Vegas is being looked at as a possible terror attack, three senior law enforcement officials told NBC News, Sky News’ US partner.

As yet, officials have not provided a cause for the explosion.

Sheriff Kevin McMahill from Las Vegas police said the force knows who rented the truck but it will not be revealing their name at this stage.

In a news conference in Las Vegas, Mr McMahill said the truck was rented in Colorado and arrived in Las Vegas at 7:30am local time (3:30pm UK time).

“It went immediately up and down Las Vegas Boulevard before immediately pulling into the Trump Towers,” he added.

Mr Mahill later said that officers are “absolutely investigating” whether the blast was connected to the attack that left at least 15 people dead in New Orleans the same day.

He added: “We’re not ruling anything out yet.”

The three law enforcement officers who spoke to NBC had earlier said they did not believe the two incidents were connected.

Meanwhile, Mr McMahill said there is “no indication” the Las Vegas explosion was connected to the Islamic State (ISIS) terror group. It comes after the FBI found an ISIS flag on the back of the truck used in the New Orleans attack.

The Las Vegas sheriff also said police have not found any devices that could have been used to set off the explosives in the vehicle outside the Trump hotel.

Mr McMahill continued: “I have to thank Elon Musk specifically, he gave us quite a lot of additional information in regards to how the vehicle was locked after it exploded… as well as being able to capture all of the video from the Tesla charging stations across the country.

“He sent that directly to us, so I appreciate his help on that.”

It had earlier emerged that the Tesla used in Las Vegas and the Ford used in New Orleans were rented from the same company.

Mr McMahill said this is something his officers will “continue to look into”.

The sheriff also shared an image of the pick-up truck after the blast which showed gas cannisters, camp fuel cannisters and large firework mortars in the back.

He continued: “It looks like the exterior of that truck is completely intact as it sits there and it really limited the damage that occurred inside of the valet, because it (caused) most of the blast to go up through the truck and out.”

Mr Mahill also pointed out that the front glass doors of the hotel, which were just metres from the blast, were not broken.

Meanwhile, Clark County deputy fire chief Billy Samuels said the seven people who suffered minor injuries were all stable, with two of them taken to hospital and later released.

It came before FBI special agent Jeremy Schwartz said the agency is trying to determine whether the blast was an act of terrorism or not.

He added: “We believe this is an isolated incident, we do not believe there is a bunch of folks out there supporting this or helping this.”

Musk’s response to blast

Earlier, Mr Musk wrote on X: “We have now confirmed that the explosion was caused by very large fireworks and/or a bomb carried in the bed of the rented cybertruck and is unrelated to the vehicle itself.

“All vehicle telemetry was positive at the time of the explosion.”

He had previously written: “The whole Tesla senior team is investigating this matter right now. Will post more information as soon as we learn anything. We’ve never seen anything like this.”

A Clark County spokeswoman said the blaze in the valet area of the Trump International Hotel in Las Vegas was reported at 8.40am local time (4.40pm UK time).

Eric Trump, Mr Trump’s son and executive vice president of the Trump Organization, posted about the fire on social media.

He acknowledged that “a reported electric vehicle fire occurred in the porte cochere of Trump Las Vegas”.

And he praised fire crews and local police “for their swift response and professionalism”.

Mary Lescano Paguada, 43, who was on holiday in Las Vegas from San Antonio, Texas, to celebrate the new year at the hotel, told Sky’s US partner network NBC News she heard an explosion in the early morning.

At first, she did not worry until she started seeing officers responding to the scene.

Ms Paguada said once she and her husband reached the reception area, they heard screaming and were told by hotel staff to get out and “don’t breathe the smoke, don’t stay”.

She said they were not allowed to return to their rooms after they went downstairs in an attempt to get them to evacuate the area.

The 64-storey hotel is just behind the famous Las Vegas Strip and opposite the Fashion Show Las Vegas shopping mall.

The suspect in the New Orleans truck attack has been identified as Shamsud-Din Jabbar.

The FBI said he was a 42-year-old US citizen from Texas. Talking about himself in a promotional video, Jabbar said he was born and raised in the state.

At least 15 people were killed in the suspected terror attack which also injured dozens of others.

Latest updates on New Orleans attack

The attack

US army veteran Jabbar is believed to have driven a Ford pick-up truck into a crowd of revellers celebrating the New Year on Bourbon Street in the French Quarter of the southern US city.

Police said he was “hell-bent on creating the carnage and the damage that he did”.

“It was very intentional behaviour. This man was trying to run over as many people as he could,” said police chief Anne Kirkpatrick.

Police chief Ms Kirkpatrick said the driver, who swerved around barricades, shot and wounded two police officers from the vehicle after it crashed.

The officers were in stable condition, she added.

Jabbar died in firefight

Jabbar was killed in a firefight with police following the attack around 3.15am local time (9.15am UK time) on Wednesday.

The bureau said the truck appeared to have been rented.

It also said an ISIS flag, weapons, and a potential improvised explosive device (IED) were found in the vehicle.

Investigators recovered a handgun and an AR-style rifle after the shootout, a law enforcement official said.

Read more:
What we know so far about atrocity
Eyewitnesses describe carnage of attack

Jabbar was army veteran

Jabbar served in the US army on active duty from 2006 to 2015, then in the army reserves from 2015 to 2020.

He was deployed to Afghanistan in 2009. He was a staff sergeant when he left with an honourable discharge in 2020.

Separately, he tried to enlist in the navy in 2004 but never actually shipped or began training.

A navy spokesperson said: “Our records show that a Shamsuddin Bahar Jabbar enlisted on 12 August 2004, in Navy Recruiting District Houston and was discharged from the Delayed Entry Programme one month later on 13 September 2004.

“He did not go to Recruit Training Command. The DOB matches. Because he did not serve in the navy, there is no additional information to add to the attached biography.”

NBC, Sky News’ US network partner, reported that Jabbar was a human resource specialist and information technology specialist from 2007 to January 2015 in the regular US army.

He was also an IT specialist in the army reserves between 2015 and 2020.

YouTube video

He is known to have appeared in a promotional video on YouTube in 2020 talking about his real estate business.

Jabbar said he was born and raised in Beaumont, Texas. He said he served in the military for 10 years as a human resources and IT specialist, learning the importance of great service and taking everything seriously.

“I’ve taken those skills and applied them to my career as a real estate agent, where I feel like what really sets me apart from other agents is my ability to be able to… be a fierce negotiator,” he said, encouraging clients to give him a call.

Was Jabbar helped by others?

The FBI initially said it did not believe he was “solely responsible” for Wednesday’s attack, but later ruled out three other potential suspects they were looking into. It is not known if he worked alone or not.

It is investigating the attacker to determine “potential associations and affiliations with terrorist organisations”.

President Joe Biden said said the suspect had expressed a “desire to kill” and had posted a video to social media hours before the attack in which he said he was inspired by the Islamic State group.

Officials are also looking into a “possible military connection” between Jabbar and the driver of a Tesla cybertruck that exploded in Las Vegas outside one of Donald Trump’s hotels, according to NBC News reports.

The driver, who has not been identified, was killed in the explosion. Sources familiar with the investigation told NBC News he had previous military experience.

The officials are also looking into the fact both men used the Turo car app to rent the vehicles used in both incidents.

Previous arrests

Jabbar was arrested in Texas in 2002 for theft, classed as a misdemeanour, and he was fined $100 by a court.

He was also arrested in the same state in 2005 for driving with an invalid licence, also classed as a misdemeanour, and was fined $100 by a court.

Twice married

Civil records show Jabbar was married twice, with his first marriage ending in 2012, NBC reported.

A petition for a second divorce was initiated in 2021.

Public records show that in 2020, Jabbar’s then wife filed a motion for a temporary restraining order against him.

The order stated that both parties should not engage in “intentionally, knowingly, or recklessly causing bodily injury to the other party or to a child of either party” or “threatening the other party or a child of either party with imminent bodily injury”.

The divorce was finalised in 2022. Jabbar and his ex-wife were granted joint custody of their child.

FBI says other possible explosives found

Two other potential IEDs were also located in the French Quarter and were made safe, the FBI said.

The historic area is known for attracting large crowds with its music and bars.

In many ways, New Orleans still screams “party” – to glance at parts of the city is to see a New Year much like the old one. 

Crowds are still in town for the Sugar Bowl college football game, hotels are rammed and bars and restaurants are open and catering for the festive trade.

Life goes on in the place they call the “Big Easy”. Except, of course, it doesn’t – not in the heart of the city.

Number of people killed rises to 15 – live updates

The famous Bourbon Street, the bucket list destination, remains cordoned off – silent except for the police generators, soundtrack to steady-paced criminal investigation.

Carnage happened here and it haunts this place.

The fabled French quarter had been the centre of New Year celebrations. Here, the grim juxtaposition of celebration and shock is sharply defined by reports that hotels with holiday bookings put sheets over guest windows to block the view of the aftermath in the street below.

“Yesterday was a celebration, everyone was happy. This has been surreal, everything changed,” Jane Foster, from Nashville in Tennessee, told Sky News.

She was in New Orleans to support the Georgia Bulldogs in the Sugar Bowl game against Notre-Dame. But if there isn’t a mood to party, there is a defiance and resilience in a city that’s suffered before.

“New Orleans is going to be back stronger than ever,” Ms Foster went on. “New Orleans is built on coming back from disaster.

“Even before Hurricane Katrina, if you think about their history and all the fires they had. It’s a strong southern town. This is a good community, they’re not going to lay over and change anything.”

Read more:

What we know about terror suspect
Attack victims named as FBI says suspect had ISIS flag

Brad Daugherty had travelled from Atlanta, Georgia, for the football game.

He said: “As long as there’s people this crazy, there’s nothing you can do,” he told Sky News.

“It’s nobody’s fault but his. We’re not going to let them win, that’s what they want. There’s no way we’re leaving.”

It is the spirit of New Year in New Orleans – a resilience in a city that’s suffered and grieves its loss. They will get through it, no doubt. But it’s hard.