Elon Helped Cops Track Vegas Explosion Suspect, Nails Media for How They Painted Incident

As we reported, Matthew Livelsberger has now been identified as the suspect in the Tesla Cybertruck explosion at the Trump Hotel in Las Vegas. Perhaps most concerning was the facts that seemed to overlap with the suspect of the Bourbon Street terrorist attack — renting the vehicle with the same Turo app and serving at the same Army base, Fort Bragg.

Vegas Cybertruck Explosion Suspect ID'd, Army Vet Served at Same Base As Bourbon St. Attacker (Updated)

But if the purpose was to send a message to Elon Musk and/or President Donald Trump, it failed in some measure because of the use of the Cybertruck itself, as Tesla head Elon Musk posted on X, law enforcement explained.

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. https://t.co/9vj1JdcRZV
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) January 2, 2025

As Musk explained, "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."

That was also why more people weren't hurt or hurt more severely. So, Musk and Tesla should also get a hat tip for the strength of their vehicle.

So, what may have been an effort to gore Musk and Trump appears instead to have blown back on the suspect. Musk retweeted how, in fact, the people behind it might have inadvertently created a Tesla ad to show the worth of the car.

Then too, Musk also called out the media for how they framed the nature of the incident, with many, like the AP, terming the incident as though it was the vehicle's fault, saying the Cybertruck "catches fire," which suggested that there was something wrong with the vehicle. Elon nailed the AP over the issue, saying that their name stood for "associated propaganda."

AP stands for Associated Propaganda pic.twitter.com/kh8rTuwlPK
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) January 2, 2025

The AP's post earned a Community Note as well and a lot of ratio from folks on line who bashed them and media in general for this.

1 person dies when Tesla truck catches fire and explodes outside Trump's Las Vegas hotel https://t.co/XGHCV0X96E
— The Associated Press (@AP) January 1, 2025

The note called the headline "misleading," explaining it "was not a mechanical problem."

The explosives contained in the truck were described as fireworks, gas tanks and camping fuel, which authorities believe were connected to a detonation system.

I reported on Wednesday about the incredible number of things that can go boom that were in the back of the vehicle and you could see them all from a video that the police showed during a briefing.

Indeed, the "fire" appeared to come only after the explosion, according to video of the incident.

In response to a poster saying maybe he should sue the media for how some were casting this, Elon replied, "Maybe it's time to do so."

Maybe they should be reporting on how Musk helped track this person down, including video from the charging stations to track the guy.

🚨 LAS VEGAS POLICE THANK ELON:

“I have to thank Elon Musk specifically. He gave us quite a bit of additional information in regards to how the vehicle was locked after it exploded.. as well as being able to capture all the video from the Tesla charging stations across the… pic.twitter.com/Xdjrp3kRfN
— Nick Sortor (@nicksortor) January 2, 2025