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.
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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.
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.”
Image: Las Vegas police released this image of the pick-up truck after the blast
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.”
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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).
Image: President-elect Donald Trump and Tesla boss Elon Musk. File pic: AP
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”.
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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.
Melania Trump has threatened to sue Hunter Biden for more than $1bn (£736.5m) in damages if he does not retract comments linking her to Jeffrey Epstein.
Mr Biden, who is the son of former US president Joe Biden, alleged in an interview this month that sex trafficker Epstein introduced the first lady to President Donald Trump.
“Epstein introduced Melania to Trump. The connections are, like, so wide and deep,” he claimed.
Ms Trump’s lawyer labelled the comments false, defamatory and “extremely salacious” in a letter to Mr Biden.
Image: Hunter Biden. File pic: AP
Her lawyer wrote that the first lady suffered “overwhelming financial and reputational harm” as the claims were widely discussed on social media and reported by media around the world.
The president and first lady previously said they were introduced by modelling agent Paolo Zampolli at a New York Fashion Week party in 1998.
Mr Biden attributed the claim that Epstein introduced the couple to author Michael Wolff, who was accused by Mr Trump of making up stories to sell books in June and was dubbed a “third-rate reporter” by the president.
The former president’s son doubled down on his remarks in a follow-up interview with the same YouTube outlet, Channel 5 with Andrew Callaghan, entitled “Hunter Biden Apology”.
Asked if he would apologise to the first lady, Mr Biden responded: “F*** that – that’s not going to happen.”
He added: “I don’t think these threats of lawsuits add up to anything other than designed distraction.”
Ms Trump’s threat to sue Mr Biden echoes a strategy employed by her husband, who has aggressively used legal action to go after critics.
Public figures like the Trumps must meet a high bar to succeed in a defamation suit like the one that could be brought by the first lady if she follows through with her threat.
In his initial interview, Mr Biden also hit out at “elites” and others in the Democratic Party, who he claims undermined his father before he dropped out of last year’s race for president.
This comes as pressure on the White House to release the Epstein files has been mounting for weeks, after he made a complete U-turn on his administration’s promise to release more information publicly.
The US Justice Department, which confirmed in July that it would not be releasing the files, said a review of the Epstein case had found “no incriminating ‘client list'” and “no credible evidence” the jailed financier – who killed himself in prison in 2019 – had blackmailed famous men.
But there are fears they will discuss a deal robbing Ukraine of the land currently occupied by Russia – something Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said he won’t accept.
Here’s what three of our correspondents think ahead of the much-anticipated face-to-face.
Putin’s legacy is at stake – he’ll want territory and more By Ivor Bennett, Moscow correspondent, in Alaska
Putin doesn’t just want victory. He needs it.
Three and a half years after he ordered the invasion of Ukraine, this war has to end in a visible win for the Russian president. It can’t have been for nothing. His legacy is at stake.
So the only deal I think he’ll be willing to accept at Friday’s summit is one that secures Moscow’s goals.
These include territory (full control of the four Ukrainian regions which Russia has already claimed), permanent neutrality for Kyiv and limits on its armed forces.
I expect he’ll be trying to convince Trump that such a deal is the quickest path to peace. The only alternative, in Russia’s eyes, is an outright triumph on the battlefield.
Image: Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump meeting in Osaka in 2019
I think Putin‘s hope is that the American president agrees with this view and then gives Ukraine a choice: accept our terms or go it alone without US support.
A deal like that might not be possible this week, but it may be in the future if Putin can give Trump something in return.
That’s why there’s been lots of talk from Moscow this week about all the lucrative business deals that can come from better US-Russia relations.
The Kremlin will want to use this opportunity to remind the White House of what else it can offer, apart from an end to the fighting.
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4:25
What will Kyiv be asked to give up?
Ukraine would rather this summit not be happening By Dominic Waghorn, international affairs editor, in Ukraine
Ukraine would far rather this meeting wasn’t happening.
Trump seemed to have lost patience with Putin and was about to hit Russia with more severe sanctions until he was distracted by the Russian leader’s suggestion that they meet.
Ukrainians say the Alaska summit rewards Putin by putting him back on the world stage.
But the meeting is happening, and they have to be realistic.
Most of all, they want a ceasefire before any negotiations can happen. Then they want the promise of security guarantees.
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2:35
Does Europe have any power over Ukraine’s future?
That is because they know that Putin may well come back for more even if peace does break out. They need to be able to defend themselves should that happen.
And they want the promise of reparations to rebuild their country, devastated by Putin’s wanton, unprovoked act of aggression.
There are billions of Russian roubles and assets frozen across the West. They want them released and sent their way.
What they fear is Trump being hoodwinked by Putin with the lure of profit from US-Russian relations being restored, regardless of Ukraine’s fate.
Image: US Army paratroopers train at the military base where discussions will take place. File pic: Reuters
That would allow Russia to regain its strength, rearm and prepare for another round of fighting in a few years’ time.
Trump and his golf buddy-turned-negotiator Steve Witkoff appear to believe Putin might be satisfied with keeping some of the land he has taken by force.
Putin says he wants much more than that. He wants Ukraine to cease to exist as a country separate from Russia.
Any agreement short of that is only likely to be temporary.
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1:41
Zelenskyy: I told Trump ‘Putin is bluffing’
Trump’s pride on the line – he has a reputation to restore By Martha Kelner, US correspondent, in Alaska
As with anything Donald Trump does, he already has a picture in his mind.
The image of Trump shaking hands with the ultimate strongman leader, Vladimir Putin, on US soil calls to his vanity and love of an attention-grabbing moment.
There is also pride at stake.
Image: Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Alaska, where Trump will meet his Russian counterpart. File pic: Reuters
Trump campaigned saying he would end the Russia-Ukraine war on his first day in office, so there is an element of him wanting to follow through on that promise to voters, even though it’s taken him 200-plus days in office and all he’s got so far is this meeting, without apparently any concessions on Putin’s end.
In Trump’s mind – and in the minds of many of his supporters – he is the master negotiator, the chief dealmaker, and he wants to bolster that reputation.
He is keen to further the notion that he negotiates in a different, more straightforward way than his predecessors and that it is paying dividends.
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