Featured Image Credit: Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department / WADE VANDERVORT/AFP via Getty Images
A highly decorated US Army soldier has been linked to an explosive attack where a Tesla Cybertruck was blown up in front of Las Vegas' Trump International Hotel.
37-year-old Matthew Livelsberger is said to have shot himself moments before the vehicle exploded outside the hotel on January 1.
Although minor injuries were caused to several people, Livelsberger was the only fatal casualty.
Speaking at a press conference, FBI’s special agent in charge in Las Vegas, Spencer Evans, said: "The motivation at this point is unknown. It’s not lost on us that it’s in front of the Trump building, that it’s a Tesla vehicle.
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“But we don’t have information at this point that definitively tells us or suggests it was because of this particular ideology or that, you know, any of the reasoning behind it."
The Denver Gazette reports that Livelsberger had sent several texts to his girlfriend days before the incident. Former Army nurse named Alicia Arritt told the outlet that the texts were 'playful', giving no indication of what was to come.
Livelsberger reportedly texted Arritt and said: "I rented a Tesla Cybertruck. It’s the sh*t."
A later text read, "I feel like Batman or halo," while a third said, "I'm building drones in my new position. You would love it."
She claims he continued to message her photos and videos from the vehicle until New Year's Eve, although she noted it was strange to hear from him so unexpectedly. According to Arritt, she and Livelsberger had stopped talking following a 'painful' breakup in 2021.
Discussing her ex, Arritt said: "I just want everyone to know that Matt was the kindest man I ever knew. He got me through a difficult time."
She added that he'd become 'isolated' when he returned from a 2019 tour in the Middle East and suffered a traumatic brain injury. According to Arritt, his 'depressive' symptoms went untreated because "it’s not acceptable to seek treatment when someone is in Special Forces."
Livelsberger is said to have left his home on December 26 following an argument with his wife.
Arritt says she knew him as a Conservative but doesn't know why he'd blow up a Cybertruck designed by Elon Musk and parked in front of a Trump hotel in Vegas.
The FBI told Arritt that she wasn't the only ex-girlfriend that Livelsberger had contacted in the days running up to January 1, although she concluded: "I don’t know if I could have stopped him."
Musk was quick to respond to the incident, and after confirming the explosion wasn't to do with a Cybertruck malfunction, he posted on January 2, writing: "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."
Although Livelsberger's body was burned beyond recognition, officials have determined he was the sole occupant. The vehicle was also packed with 'off-the-shelf ingredients' that included fireworks, propane canisters, and exploding shooting targets. Two rifles and a .50 caliber Desert Eagle were recovered from the trunk of the Cybertruck.
Authorities have said there's nothing to link Livelsberger to the New Orleans attack that took place just hours before.
