Elon Musk backs Cybertruck after explosion: 'Picked the wrong vehicle for terrorist attack'

Elon Musk, one of the most prominent promoters of the electric vehicle, said the Cybertruck contained the explosion and directed the blast upwards.

Published on: Jan 2, 2025, 13:01:10 IST

By HT News Desk

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Reacting to the explosion outside the Trump International Hotel in Las Vegas inside the Tesla Cybertruck, Elon Musk, the company's founder, lauded the build quality of the vehicle saying the "evil knuckleheads picked the wrong vehicle for a terrorist attack".

Flames rise from a Tesla Cybertruck after it exploded outside the Trump International Hotel Las Vegas. (Reuters)

Elon Musk, one of the most prominent promoters of the electric vehicle, said the Cybertruck contained the explosion and directed the blast upwards.

"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," he wrote on X.

The Clark County Fire Department confirmed that it responded to a vehicle fire in the valet area of the Trump International Hotel at approximately 8:40 am local time.

Also read: 'Can't get over her screams': Eyewitnesses recount New Orleans truck horror

Musk claims connection between truck attack, Cybertruck blast

Meanwhile, Elon Musk on Wednesday claimed that there was a connection between the explosion and a truck attack in New Orleans that killed 15.

"Appears likely to be an act of terrorism. Both this Cybertruck and the F-150 suicide bomb in New Orleans were rented from Turo. Perhaps they are linked in some way," Musk wrote on X.

The explosion in Las Vegas killed one person and injured seven others. The Tesla CEO clarified on X that the explosion was caused by fireworks or a bomb carried in the bed of the rented Cybertruck, not by the vehicle itself.

"We have now confirmed that the 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," Musk wrote on X.

The authorities said they found a deceased person inside the Cybertruck.

The explosives contained in the Cybertruck were fireworks, gas tanks, and camping fuel, which were connected to a detonation system controlled by the driver, CNN reported.

With inputs from ANI

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