Kevin McMahill, LVMPD Sheriff, holds a press conference on January 1, 2025, following the explosion of a Tesla Cybertruck. McMahill thanks Elon Musk for quickly helping law enforcement.
Law enforcement officials got an assist from technology in their investigation into the explosion of a Tesla Cybertruck that was loaded with fireworks and explosive materials at the Trump International Hotel in Las Vegas on Wednesday.
Las Vegas Sheriff Kevin McMahill said at a news conference on the day of the blast that Tesla CEO Elon Musk assisted the investigation with video taken at Tesla charging stations as well as the city’s license plate reader (LPR) system.
“I have to thank Elon Musk. Specifically, he gave us a lot of additional information about how the vehicle was trapped after it exploded due to the nature of the force from the explosion, as well as being able to capture all the video from Tesla charging stations around the country and he sent it directly to us, so I appreciate his help with that,” McMahill explained.
“The first indication of that vehicle arriving here in Las Vegas came from a license plate reader, so the technology has been very helpful for us in solving that,” he added.
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A Tesla Cybertruck burst into flames outside the Trump International Hotel in Las Vegas on Wednesday, killing the driver and injuring seven others. (EyePress News/Shutterstock/Shutterstock)
Retired NYPD Inspector Paul Mauro told FOX Business in an interview that LPRs have “grown to the point where most cities, if not all, have license plate readers scattered around the city for various reasons.”
“With Musk on board, with a prosecutor writing the expedited orders that you need with the immediate exception of trying to figure out if there are any other terrorist attacks here, are they connected, etc., you’re going to get all that information. very, very quickly”, he explained.
“Between that and LPRs these days, you should be able to put a pretty accurate and complete travel route on this guy and I’m sure that’s what they’re working on right now and I’m sure they probably got most of it. already”, said Mauro.
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Video taken from cameras at Tesla charging stations was provided to law enforcement officials investigating the explosion. (Jeff Gritchen/MediaNews Group/Orange County Register via Getty Images / Getty Images)
McMahill said at a press conference Thursday that authorities have pieced together the route taken by the suspect, Matthew Livelsberger, who was inside the Cybertruck loaded with explosives.
Livelsberger rented the Cybertruck in Denver on December 28. From there, McMahill said, “We tracked its movements through Tesla charging stations in Monument, Colorado, on December 30. On December 31, the truck was charged in Trinidad, Colorado, Las Vegas, New Mexico, and Albuquerque and Gallup, in January. First, the truck was loaded in Holbrook, Flagstaff and Kingman, Arizona.”
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The Cybertruck was loaded with explosive materials, including gasoline, camping fuel and fireworks. (EyePress News/Shutterstock/Shutterstock)
McMahill added that authorities are looking to identify other people who may have used the charging stations at the same time to obtain additional video that could be used in the investigation.
The Cybertruck was also spotted by LPRs entering Las Vegas, and the technology was used to track the trail that ended at the Trump International Hotel, where the explosion occurred. One person lost his life and seven were injured in the explosion.
Musk and Tesla are continuing to help the investigation, as McMahill noted Thursday that the company sent experts to try to get video from the vehicle to help the investigation.
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“Many of you may know that Cybertrucks contain a large number of cameras. Again, Mr. Musk has sent a number of his people who will arrive here this afternoon with the goal of trying to capture the part … that captured them all that from inside the truck,” McMahill said.
FOX Business’ Alex Nitzberg contributed to this report.
