We’re starting to learn some things about Matthew Livelsberger, the man suspected in the explosion of a Tesla Cybertruck car outside of the Trump International Hotel Las Vegas.
We can start with what we know is not the case: It does not appear that the incident had anything to do with the terrorist attack in New Orleans earlier that day. Sure, the perpetrators used the same app to rent their trucks, both had a military background and spent some time at the base formerly known as Fort Bragg. But no evidence has emerged that the two men knew each other, or that their crimes were in any way related.
Also, it does not appear that the suspect chose the Trump hotel for any anti-Trump reason or a Cybertruck for any anti-Elon Musk-related reason, and it’s not clear why he committed the act at that particular location.
Cybertruck blast suspect was a ‘Rambo type’ who loved Trump, family says https://t.co/jEL99bjQfo
— NO More US Mushooms (@NomoreUSshrooms) January 2, 2025
Stay up-to-date with the latest news!
Subscribe and start recieving our daily emails.
Here’s what we do know, according to a report by The Independent: The 37-year-old Livelsberger, who died in the incident, was active-duty military and a Green Beret. His uncle told the newspaper that Livelsberger supported Donald Trump, was “a 100 percent patriot,” and a “supersoldier.” He spent 19 years in the military, the majority of the time in Special Forces.
The uncle described him as “like a Rambo-type, for lack of a better word,” which is apropos since the fictional John Rambo was himself a troubled war veteran.
“He used to have all patriotic stuff on Facebook, he was 100 percent loving the country,” the uncle told The Independent. “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.”
The Las Vegas Review Journal, however, reported that Livelsberger was a registered voter with the “No Labels” movement, a centrist organization that, for the last several election cycles has tried and failed to get an established political figure to run for president under their banner, with Larry Hogan and Joe Manchin both approached to run in 2024. He was registered with the party, in Colorado, in 2020 and 2024.
Las Vegas Sheriff Kevin McMahill said Thursday that Livelsberger sustained a gunshot wound to the head prior to the car explosion, indicating that he had committed suicide. In the car, police found “consumer-grade” explosives, as well as an iPhone, a smartwatch, and two guns, botht of which had been purchased two days earlier.
Meanwhile, some fans of Elon Musk have expressed anger at… the media, for reporting, accurately, that the car in the incident was a Tesla Cybertruck.
Honestly @elonmusk should consider suing outlets who framed the story like this. These headlines are sabotaging @Tesla’s brand by making people think it caught on fire. There’s about 1 Tesla fire for every 130 million miles traveled. Other cars have 1 every 18 million miles. pic.twitter.com/OuKAgNboIf
— Robby Starbuck (@robbystarbuck) January 2, 2025
“Elon Musk is once again threatening to sue over speech he dislikes — this time, over factual headlines about a deadly explosion involving a Tesla Cybertruck,” journalist Mike Masnick of Techdirt wrote of that particular tantrum. “But not liking how a story is framed doesn’t make it defamatory. For a statement to be defamatory, it must be false, damaging, and published with “reckless disregard for the truth” (effectively meaning “knowing it was false when you decided to publish”). None of that applies here.”
Featured image via screengrab
