2 days Ago By Varun Godinho
Days before the CES trade show commences in Las Vegas, a blast outside the Trump Hotel in the city has put a sharp focus on security for the world’s biggest annual consumer electronics trade show where ChannelNews will be on the ground bringing you live updates. The CES will take place from the 8 January – 11 January. On Thursday, officials confirmed the identity of the driver of the Tesla Cybertuck that exploded on New Year’s day outside the hotel where some CES delegates stay during the trade show.
Las Vegas police identified Matthew Alan Livelsberger, 37, as the man who rented the vehicle and drove it from Colorado to Las Vegas. He was an active-duty US special forces soldier and reportedly shot himself dead before the blast. Livelsberger served in both the Army and National Guard and was a decorated Special Forces Intelligence Sergeant.
Seven people were injured when the vehicle which was filled with fuel canisters and firework mortars exploded. Authorities have said that the Cybertruck helped contain the explosion, sending the blast vertical rather than outward “The fact that this was a Cybertruck really limited the damage that occurred inside the valet because it had most of the blast go up through the truck and out,” Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department Sheriff Kevin McMahill said during a news conference this week. Elon Musk, with close ties to President-elect Donald Trump took to X defending the Cybertruck saying, “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.” Sheriff McMahill has termed the incident as “a suicide with a bombing that occurred immediately after.
” Investigators have recovered a military ID, a passport, two semi-automatic pistols, fireworks, an iPhone, a smart watch and several credit cards in Livelsberger’s name from the charred vehicle, according to the BBC..
