Driver Of Cybertruck Detonated At Trump Hotel In Las Vegas Was Arizona-Born Green Beret
By Matthew Holloway |
The man confirmed to be the driver of the Tesla Cybertruck, which exploded in front of the Trump International Hotel Las Vegas on Wednesday, was revealed to have been born in Arizona. U.S. Army Green Beret, Master Sergeant Matthew Livelsberger, traveled through the state en route from his home in Colorado Springs to Las Vegas in a Las Vegas Metro Police Department press briefing.
During the 24-minute press conference on Thursday, Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department (LVMPD) Sheriff Kevin McMahill shared that the identity of the man in the truck has not been confirmed, but authorities are highly confident in the identification of Livelsberger. They remain confident based on military identification, a passport, and credit cards recovered from the vehicle, as well as human remains with partially visible tattoos. Arizona was confirmed as the subject’s birthplace by his passport.
In a post to X, the LVMPD summarized the briefing writing, “Yesterday, January 1, 2025, at approximately a.m., LVMPD responded to a vehicle explosion involving a Tesla Cyber Truck at a hotel property on Fashion Show Drive. One person was found deceased in the vehicle, and seven others sustained minor injuries.
Key updates from the investigation:
- The deceased is believed to be Matthew Livelsberger, a 37-year-old active-duty U.S. Army Green Beret. 100% DNA confirmation is pending.
- Detectives tracked Livelsberger’s movements across multiple states leading to Las Vegas.
- Livelsberger died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound before the explosion occurred.
- Evidence recovered from the vehicle includes firearms, fireworks, gas canisters, and other items.
This is a joint investigation with federal partners, and detectives are working diligently to uncover the motive and any further details.”
WATCH:
The LVMPD later posted to X confirming the man’s identity as Livelsberger per the Clark County Coroner.
Police have determined that the subject in the vehicle died prior to the explosion from a self-inflicted “intraoral gun shot wound” likely inflicted by the .50 caliber Desert Eagle handgun recovered from the vehicle along with an SLR model B30 semi-automatic rifle. The Cybertruck could be seen on video pulling up to the hotel’s valet and exploding 17 seconds later. Seven bystanders were injured.
Summarizing the state of the investigation into the bombing, McMahill shared with reporters that not only was Livelsberger born in Arizona, but he also traveled through the northern portion of the state, determined by tracking the Cybertruck through charging stations in cities including Holbrook, Flagstaff, and Kingman in the hours leading up to the explosion on the Vegas strip.
McMahill explained that the rear of the Cybertruck contained, “gasoline canisters, camp fuel canisters and large firework mortars.”
Jeremy Schwartz, acting special agent in charge with the Las Vegas Field Office, told reporters, “We believe this is an isolated incident. We do not believe that there is a bunch of folks out there supporting this or helping this and we don’t believe that there’s any other danger to the community right now,” according to ABC15.
Livelsberger’s Uncle, Dean Livelsberger, told The Independent that he was baffled by reports that his nephew was involved in the explosion. He told the outlet, “He used to have all patriotic stuff on Facebook, he was 100 percent loving the country.” He continued, “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.”
Dean, himself an Air Force veteran, also expressed confusion at the lack of sophistication in the explosives used. “Matt was a very skilled warrior, and he would be able to make — if it was him, and if he did this — he would’ve been able to make a more sophisticated explosive than using propane tanks and camping fuel. He was what you might call a ‘supersoldier.’ If you ever read about the things he was awarded, and the experience he had, some of it doesn’t make sense, when he had the skills and ability to make something more, let’s say, ‘efficient.’ His skills were enormous from what he had been taught in the military.”
He suggested that, given his nephew’s skill set, he “could have fashioned a bomb that would have obliterated half of that hotel if he seriously wanted to hurt others.”
“Think of Oklahoma City,” he added. “McVeigh was just a normal soldier. Not a Tier 1 operator like Matt.”
Sheriff Livelsberger also averred from calling the explosion a “suicide mission,” and instead described it as “a suicide with a bombing that occurred immediately thereafter.”
Kenny Cooper, assistant special agent in charge of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms’ San Francisco Division noted similarly, “The level of sophistication is not what we would expect from an individual with this type of military experience.”
Matthew Holloway is a reporter for AZ Free News. Follow him on X for his latest stories, or email tips to Matthew@azfreenews.com.