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Who Is Matthew Livelsberger And What's Up With The Las Vegas Cybertruck Explosion? How The High-Profile Attack Is Unfolding Online
People heralded New Year's Day for 2025 with fiery new imagery of a Tesla Cybertruck going up in flames next to a giant sign that reads "Trump."
In one of two separate truck-enabled New Year's Eve attacks, an ex-Army member drove a Cybertruck filled with firework mortars, fuel and explosives to the lobby of the Trump International Hotel Las Vegas and shot himself before his vehicle exploded in an incident with no fatalities besides the driver himself.
The days following the event have gone to unearth some strange details about the incident, with internet users theorizing about the connection between the Cybertruck bomber and the New Orleans truck attacker, while also joking about a particularly ironic photo going viral days ahead of Donald Trump's presidential inauguration.
So, what's the story behind the explosive incident, what's known about the suspect Matthew Livelsberger and how are people around the internet reacting to the rocky start to the new year? Here's what we know so far about the developing story.
What Was The Las Vegas Cybertruck Explosion and What Caused It?
Reports began to emerge late on December 31st, 2024, about a fiery explosion outside the Las Vegas Trump Hotel on New Year's Eve, with photos of a flaming Tesla Cybertruck next to a sign that says "Trump" quickly spreading across social media heading into the early morning hours of January 1st, 2025.
The electric vehicle exploded close to the hotel lobby under the carport near the entrance with other vehicles parked nearby, resulting in seven injuries and one fatality: the driver of the truck.
Cybertruck explosion outside trump hotel byu/Razsah inCyberStuck
Videos of the explosion, as well as the view of the fiery vehicle, began making the rounds on January 1st, 2025, even as subsequent news reports indicated that the truck was driven was 37-year-old Michael Livelberger from Colorado Springs.
Cybertruck blew up in front of Trump hotel in Las Vegas. Those are our luggage by the door and that’s where we were when it happened. pic.twitter.com/KaVZXfGLNK
— ayackle (@kaaaassuu) January 1, 2025
The explosion was reportedly caused by "gasoline canisters, camp fuel canisters and large firework mortars" found in the rear of the Cybertruck, leading investigators to conclude that the attack was premeditated and intentional.
Moreover, authorities found that the Cybertruck itself was rented out using the car-rental app Turo days prior to the explosion from Colorado Springs where Livelberger lived.
Las Vegas Police show images of gasoline canisters, camp fuel canisters, and large fire work mortars in the back of the cybertruck that exploded earlier today pic.twitter.com/LWpkRAKMaB
— Acyn (@Acyn) January 2, 2025
Tesla CEO Elon Musk tweeted about the police identifying explosives in the vehicle's rear on January 1st, assuring people that the Cybertruck did not spontaneously combust.
In a separate reply to political commentator Ian Miles Cheong later that same day, Musk described the Cybertruck as the "worst possible choice for a car bomb," given that the vehicle auto-locked itself during the explosion, killing only the driver.
Who Was Matthew Livelsberger, And What Have The Police Uncovered About His Motivations?
The deceased suspect in the Las Vegas Cybertruck Explosion was soon identified as U.S. Army veteran and former Special Forces operative Matthew Livelsberger, who reportedly worked in consulting after leaving the Army and serving as a member of the legendary Green Berets.
Moreover, some internet users linked Livelberger to the perpetrator in the New Orleans Truck Attack, saying that both Livelsberger and Shamsud-Din Jabba were stationed at the same Army base — North Carolina's Fort Bragg (now called Fort Liberty).
More information about Livelsberger was uncovered on January 2nd, 2025, including the news that he texted his ex-girlfriend days before the Las Vegas bombing, excited about having rented out a Cybertruck and saying, "I feel like Batman or halo."
I feel like Batman or Halo https://t.co/kGGEtmhi1Q
— Fredda (@PunishedFredda) January 3, 2025
The Vegas bomber's family also claimed that Livelsberger was a Trump supporter, expressing confusion about why he would choose to bomb a Trump hotel. X user @GuntherEagleman's quoted his uncle as saying, "He loved Trump, and he was always a very, very patriotic soldier, a patriotic American. It’s one of the reasons he was in Special Forces for so many years. It wasn’t just one tour of duty."
Meanwhile, X user @chiweethedog expressed incredulity at learning that the bomber shot himself in the head before the explosion and that his ID remained legible despite his body being charred beyond recognition. The post gathered over 2,000 likes in a day,
How Did People React To The Vegas Cybertruck Explosion?
People across the internet seemed to find much humor in one particular photo emerging from the explosion — a flaming Cybertruck standing next to a sign that reads "TRUMP." Many internet users took it as a sign of Trump's upcoming presidency, alluding to the rumors that he was being unduly influenced by Elon Musk. For example, on January 1st, 2025, X user @uncledoomer posted, "this makes the A24 civil war movie’s writing look subtle by comparison."
Other internet users recreated the event in video games, as seen in a Fortnite video posted by X user @supersonic16023 that was captioned, "NEW: Video shows Tesla Cybertruck explosion at the Trump tower in Tilted Towers. No word yet on the cause."
NEW: Video shows Tesla Cybertruck explosion at the Trump tower in Tilted Towers. No word yet on the cause pic.twitter.com/6P2NWuFjqK
— sarah but❤️🖤💚but FESTIVE⛄️🎄🎁 (@supersonic16023) January 2, 2025
Later on January 1st, 2025, Redditor QuicklyThisWay posted a "Happy New Year" meme using the footage of the explosion to the subreddit /r/HighQualityGifs.
Tesla starting 2025 with a bang byu/QuicklyThisWay inHighQualityGifs
For the full history of the Las Vegas Trump Hotel Cybertruck Explosion, be sure to check out Know Your Meme's encyclopedia entry for more information.
