Authorities identify driver of Tesla Cybertruck loaded with fireworks and fuel that exploded outside Trump International Hotel in Las Vegas, killing driver and injuring seven others
The Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department said they believe Matthew Leiblesberger, 37, of Colorado Springs, was in the driver’s seat when the truck exploded, but the body was not immediately identified. Police said Libersberger died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound before the explosion. Police said a handgun was found at his feet.
LVMPD Sheriff Kevin McMahill said at a news conference Thursday that a charred body was found inside the vehicle, which was identified through military identification, credit cards and passports found at the scene.
Matthew Libersberger’s identification card was found inside a Tesla Cybertruck that was involved in an explosion outside the Trump International Hotel in Las Vegas.
(Las Vegas Metro Police Department, via Associated Press)
“His body was burned beyond recognition, and we still don’t have 100 percent certainty that that was the person who was in our vehicle,” McMahill said. “I’m not going back until I have confirmation through DNA or medical records that this person was actually in the car.”
Authorities believe Libersberger acted alone and the motive is still under investigation.
Las Vegas police said they responded to reports of an explosion at the Trump International Hotel in Las Vegas around 8:40 a.m. Wednesday. A rented 2024 Tesla Cybertruck exploded near the hotel’s entrance door and burst into flames. Authorities found camping fuel and gasoline containers and a fireworks mortar in the bed of the truck.
McMahill said authorities tracked Libresberger’s travels from Colorado to Las Vegas and determined that he was the only one to rent and drive the Cybertruck.
Vehicular traffic near the Trump International Hotel in Las Vegas on Wednesday.
(Ty O’Neal/Associated Press)
Libersberger and Shamsud Din Jabbar, identified as the man who drove a truck into a crowd on Bourbon Street in New Orleans early Wednesday morning, both previously served in the Army at Fort Berger. Ta. Bragg, now known as Ft. Liberty, North Carolina, but it is unclear whether they served at the same time or were in the same unit. McMahill said both men also served in Afghanistan in 2009, but officials said there is no evidence they were in the same location in the country or in the same unit. We both rented cars using the rental car company Turo.
Libersberger served in the U.S. Army as a Green Beret operations sergeant, spending most of his time at Fort Martin. Carson in Colorado and Germany. He was on approved leave from Germany at the time of his death.
McMahill said Leiblesberger rented the Cybertruck in Denver on Dec. 28 and charged it at Tesla charging stations throughout Colorado and New Mexico. The vehicle was tracked around 5:33 a.m. Wednesday in Kingman, Arizona, and first spotted in Las Vegas around 7:29 a.m.
Surveillance footage shows Libersberger parked his car in the valet area of the Trump Hotel and the explosion occurred 17 seconds later.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk said in a statement on the
Livelsberger worked as a special forces operations manager for the U.S. Army since 2006, according to his LinkedIn profile, before transitioning to manager of remote and autonomous systems two months ago.
On his Facebook profile, Libersberger previously criticized the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan in 2021, calling it “the biggest foreign policy failure in American history.”
“Bette Bolton received significant funding from the DNC and other slimy donors to publish her book,” he said in a comment, referring to former U.S. National Security Adviser John Bolton and 2020 He mentioned his memoir, published in 2013.
When accused of being a conspiracy theorist, Libersberger responded, “If it’s clear that this guy took money from the Democratic Party, then it’s not a conspiracy.”
In another comment, Berg responded to a woman on Facebook who complained about the sound of fireworks. “Hearing the sounds of battle was great,” he wrote.
A police vehicle is seen near the Trump Hotel in Las Vegas on Wednesday.
(Ty O’Neal/Associated Press)
An Army spokesperson confirmed that Libersberger was on approved leave at the time of his death. He joined the active-duty Army in December 2012, serving in the Army Reserve and National Guard before becoming a Green Beret candidate.
“We are cooperating fully with federal and state law enforcement, but as a matter of policy, we do not comment on ongoing investigations,” the agency said in a statement.
FBI officials in Denver confirmed in a statement that they have begun searching a Colorado Springs residence in connection with the incident and will be on site for several hours.
“This activity is related to the Las Vegas explosion,” the FBI wrote to X.
Two semi-automatic guns that Libersberger had purchased on Monday were found inside the vehicle, McMahill said. Investigators are looking into how fireworks and containers of gasoline and camping fuel ignited in the back of the car.
An investigation is also underway into whether Mr. Libersberger intentionally targeted one of Mr. Trump’s assets. Musk is a close aide to the next president.
“There’s no question that it’s a Tesla car in front of President Trump’s building, but at this point there’s no way to clearly communicate or imply that it’s because of this particular ideology or any reason behind it. “We have no information,” said Las Vegas FBI Special Agent Spencer Evans.
Staff writer Hannah Fry contributed to this report.
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