<p>Las Vegas: The FBI is investigating whether there is any connection between the explosion of a Tesla Cybertruck outside the Trump International Hotel Las Vegas and a New Orleans truck attack that killed 15 people on New Year's Day, officials said.</p><p>Gasoline canisters and large firework mortars were packed into the Cybertruck that burst into flames shortly after a driver intentionally drove a pickup truck into crowds celebrating the new year in the French Quarter of New Orleans, according to officials.</p><p>The sole occupant of the truck was found dead inside and seven people sustained minor injuries, the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department said in a statement. The FBI has identified the person driving the vehicle but was not ready to release that information, FBI special agent in charge Jeremy Schwartz told reporters on Wednesday.</p>.<p>The FBI did not return a request for more information on Thursday. The incident occurred just hours after a man drove a truck into crowds of New Year's Day revelers in New Orleans, killing 15.</p><p>Officials have not established a link between the events.</p><p>Videos taken by witnesses inside and outside the Las Vegas hotel showed the vehicle exploding and flames pouring out of it, as it sat outside the hotel at around 8:40 a.m. local time (1640 GMT) Wednesday.</p>.Joe Biden says investigators looking for links between New Orleans attack, Las Vegas incident.<p>A Trump spokesman did not return a request for comment Thursday on the Cybertruck incident. Eric Trump praised Las Vegas fire and law enforcement officials on Wednesday for their quick action on the explosion.</p><p>'LOTS OF QUESTIONS' The Trump International Hotel in Las Vegas is part of the Trump Organization, the company of President-elect Donald Trump, who will return to the White House on Jan. 20. Tesla CEO Elon Musk was a key backer of Trump in his 2024 presidential campaign and is also an adviser to the incoming president.</p>.<p>"Obviously a Cybertruck, the Trump hotel - there's lots of questions that we have to answer," Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department Sheriff Kevin McMahill said at a news conference.</p><p>Police said the truck was rented in Colorado, arrived in Las Vegas at around 7:30 a.m. and drove through the city's famed Strip, lined with hotels, casinos and entertainment venues, until it reached the hotel, where it stopped in the valet area.</p><p>"Detectives found gasoline canisters and large firework mortars in the bed of the truck," a police statement said.</p><p>Schwartz, the FBI special agent in charge, said it was not yet clear whether the blast was an act of terrorism.</p><p>Musk said the blast was unrelated to the 2024 model-year Cybertruck itself.</p>.<p>"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 said in a post on X. "All vehicle telemetry was positive at the time of the explosion."</p><p>Telemetry involves the automatic collection of data from remote sources, transmitting it back to a central source so it can later be analyzed.</p><p>Both the Cybertruck and the vehicle used in the New Orleans attack had been rented through car-sharing service Turo, McMahill said.</p>.<p>A Turo spokesperson said the company did not believe either of the renters of the vehicles involved in the Las Vegas and New Orleans attacks had a criminal background that would have identified them as a security threat.</p><p>The Trump Hotel was evacuated after the incident and most of the visitors were moved to another hotel. </p>
<p>Las Vegas: The FBI is investigating whether there is any connection between the explosion of a Tesla Cybertruck outside the Trump International Hotel Las Vegas and a New Orleans truck attack that killed 15 people on New Year's Day, officials said.</p><p>Gasoline canisters and large firework mortars were packed into the Cybertruck that burst into flames shortly after a driver intentionally drove a pickup truck into crowds celebrating the new year in the French Quarter of New Orleans, according to officials.</p><p>The sole occupant of the truck was found dead inside and seven people sustained minor injuries, the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department said in a statement. The FBI has identified the person driving the vehicle but was not ready to release that information, FBI special agent in charge Jeremy Schwartz told reporters on Wednesday.</p>.<p>The FBI did not return a request for more information on Thursday. The incident occurred just hours after a man drove a truck into crowds of New Year's Day revelers in New Orleans, killing 15.</p><p>Officials have not established a link between the events.</p><p>Videos taken by witnesses inside and outside the Las Vegas hotel showed the vehicle exploding and flames pouring out of it, as it sat outside the hotel at around 8:40 a.m. local time (1640 GMT) Wednesday.</p>.Joe Biden says investigators looking for links between New Orleans attack, Las Vegas incident.<p>A Trump spokesman did not return a request for comment Thursday on the Cybertruck incident. Eric Trump praised Las Vegas fire and law enforcement officials on Wednesday for their quick action on the explosion.</p><p>'LOTS OF QUESTIONS' The Trump International Hotel in Las Vegas is part of the Trump Organization, the company of President-elect Donald Trump, who will return to the White House on Jan. 20. Tesla CEO Elon Musk was a key backer of Trump in his 2024 presidential campaign and is also an adviser to the incoming president.</p>.<p>"Obviously a Cybertruck, the Trump hotel - there's lots of questions that we have to answer," Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department Sheriff Kevin McMahill said at a news conference.</p><p>Police said the truck was rented in Colorado, arrived in Las Vegas at around 7:30 a.m. and drove through the city's famed Strip, lined with hotels, casinos and entertainment venues, until it reached the hotel, where it stopped in the valet area.</p><p>"Detectives found gasoline canisters and large firework mortars in the bed of the truck," a police statement said.</p><p>Schwartz, the FBI special agent in charge, said it was not yet clear whether the blast was an act of terrorism.</p><p>Musk said the blast was unrelated to the 2024 model-year Cybertruck itself.</p>.<p>"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 said in a post on X. "All vehicle telemetry was positive at the time of the explosion."</p><p>Telemetry involves the automatic collection of data from remote sources, transmitting it back to a central source so it can later be analyzed.</p><p>Both the Cybertruck and the vehicle used in the New Orleans attack had been rented through car-sharing service Turo, McMahill said.</p>.<p>A Turo spokesperson said the company did not believe either of the renters of the vehicles involved in the Las Vegas and New Orleans attacks had a criminal background that would have identified them as a security threat.</p><p>The Trump Hotel was evacuated after the incident and most of the visitors were moved to another hotel. </p>