Musk Responds to Cybertruck Explosion in Vegas: ‘Picked the Wrong Vehicle’

U.S. President-elect Donald Trump alongside Elon Musk (C) and Senate members, including (L-R) Sens. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) and Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.), and Rep. Ronny Jackson (R-Texas), before attending a viewing of the launch of the sixth test flight of the SpaceX Starship rocket in Brownsville, Texas, on Nov. 19, 2024. Brandon Bell/Getty Images

Tesla CEO Elon Musk said that the “evil knuckleheads” behind the Tesla Cybertruck blast near President-elect Donald Trump’s hotel in Las Vegas on Wednesday had “picked the wrong vehicle” because the truck limited the damage.

The explosion, which occurred at around 8:40 a.m. local time, left one person, the driver, dead and seven injured, officials said. Police credited the Cybertruck’s design with limiting the damage from the explosion.

“The evil knuckleheads picked the wrong vehicle for a terrorist attack. Cybertruck actually contained the explosion and directed the blast upwards. Not even the glass doors of the lobby were broken,” Musk wrote on X, a social media platform he owns, on Wednesday.

Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department Sheriff Kevin McMahill said at a press conference on Wednesday that the Cybertruck’s cargo bed had fuel canisters, mortar fireworks, and gas canisters.

“The fact that this was a Cybertruck really limited the damage that occurred inside of the valet because it had most of the blast go up through the truck and out,” McMahill said at the news conference.

He said video footage shows that the glass doors of the Trump Hotel “were not even broken” after the explosion. The vehicle, according to the footage and police, was parked in front of the Trump building.

During the news conference on Wednesday, Jeremy Schwartz, acting FBI special agent for Las Vegas, said the law enforcement bureau is looking into whether it “was an act of terrorism or not.”

“I know everybody’s interested in that word and trying to see if we can say, ‘Hey, this is a terrorist attack,’” Schwartz said. “That is our goal, and that’s what we’re trying to do.”

The explosion occurred just hours after a man drove a vehicle into crowds of New Year’s Day revelers in New Orleans, killing at least 15 and injuring dozens more. The FBI said it is investigating that incident as an act of terrorism, noting that the suspect, Shamsud-Din Jabbar, had an ISIS flag attached to the hitch of the truck.

President Joe Biden said on Wednesday evening that officials are investigating whether the Las Vegas incident and the suspected terrorist attack in New Orleans are connected.

“The whole Tesla senior team is investigating this matter right now,” Musk wrote on X right after the Cybertruck explosion was reported in Las Vegas.

In a subsequent post on X, Musk wrote that the truck “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 wrote.

Tesla has long used telemetry to gather data remotely for its vehicles, according to its website.

When the vehicle was unveiled several years ago, Musk touted that it could withstand being shot because it was made of the same stainless steel alloy materials as SpaceX rockets.

Trump has not issued a response to the blast, which the FBI has said it is investigating as a possible terrorist incident. His son Eric Trump provided a statement on the incident.

“Earlier today, a reported electric vehicle fire occurred in the porte cochère of Trump Las Vegas,” Eric Trump said in a statement on X. “The safety and well-being of our guests and staff remain our top priority.”