Tesla Cybertruck’s Design Might Have Prevented More Damage in Las Vegas New Year’s ExplosionTesla Cybertruck’s Design Might Have Prevented More Damage in Las Vegas New Year’s Explosion

While much of the news on New Year’s Day centered around the tragic events surrounding the alleged terrorist truck-based attack on civilians early New Year’s Day in downtown New Orleans, the explosion of a Tesla Cybertruck the morning of New Year’s Day in Las Vegas also raised security concerns and speculation of potential terrorism. A rented 2024 Tesla Cybertruck exploded and became engulfed in flames in front of the Trump Las Vegas Hotel after reportedly circling around the area for an hour. The truck’s driver was killed and seven others injured.

According to a Guardian report, the driver of the truck who was killed during the explosion was identified as soldier Matthew Livelsberger, a US army member, from Colorado Springs, Colorado. Livelsberger, who was on approved Army leave, reportedly rented the vehicle from Turo, the vehicle-sharing service that was also used in the New Orleans attack. Found inside the Tesla Cybertruck were fireworks-style mortars, camping fuel and gas canisters. 

The FBI is investigating the incident, where the circumstances─ next to the Trump Las Vegas Hotel, involving a Tesla, whose company founder Eton Musk is a Trump ally─raises speculation that the explosion is a potential terrorist act. While indications are that Livelsberger acted alone, it is not clear with he had connections to terrorist activities or organizations.

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But what is becoming quite clear is that Livelsberger’s decision to use a Tesla Cybertruck to commit the actions backfired on him in the sense that the truck’s robust steel construction likely prevented more damage, reports say.

An Associated Press report Thursday said that Livelsberger shot himself in the head before the explosion and was likely seeking to cause more damage. However, the steel-sided vehicle appears to have absorbed much of the impact from the explosion.

Hotel Spared

In the CNN report,  Kevin McMahill, sheriff of the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department, noted that most of the blast was directed upward, leaving the Trump Las Vegas Hotel’s front glass unbroken during the explosion. “The fact that this was a Cybertruck really limited the damage that occurred inside of the valet because it had most of the blast. Up through the truck and out,” he was quoted as saying. “You’ll see that the front glass doors at the Trump hotel were not even broken by that blast which they were parked directly in front of.”

McMahill also noted that Musk had fully cooperated in the investigation, stating, “I have to thank Elon Musk specifically,” McMahill added, noting that Tesla Motors’ CEO gave authorities “quite a bit of additional information,” including directly sending them video from its charging stations to help with their efforts to track the driver.

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One Engineer's Analysis

One might question accepting at face value the assertion of the Las Vegas sheriff, who is in law enforcement and not an engineer, that the design of the Cybertruck had any bearing on being able to mitigate some of the damage from the explosion. It is also likely that Livelsberger’s improvised attempt at creating explosives did not produce their intended effect.

But one recent YouTube video also suggests that the truck’s construction might have played a role in controlling some of the damage. On the channel Two Bit Da Vinci, the host Ricky suggests the choice of the Cybertruck’s might have been a saving grace. For one, he stated that the Cybertruck is fabricated with a stronger cold-rolled steel alloy than other vehicles. He also pointed out the steel’s thickness: while most vehicles use 20 to 18 gauge steel that is about 0.9 mil thick, the Cybertruck uses steel 1.8 mil thick for the doors alone and 1.4 mil thick for the rest of the vehicle.

The host noted that the explosion caused the glass, which is the weakest point, blew out as might be expected, but the effects of the explosion were directed upwards as the Las Vegas sheriff said. The vehicle’s steel body was largely intact. The YouTube channel host asserted that the vehicle’s body absorbed much of the damage. He also noted that Cybertruck’s battery did not catch fire after the explosion.

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You can view the video here.

Tesla Exonerated?

In a post on X, Musk stated, ”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.”

The circumstances of the incident dispelled any possibility that problems with the Cybertruck’s battery and charging system had any bearing.

A December 20th report on the site Electrek noted that Tesla has conducted several recalls of its Cybertruck for various issues, the latest being cell dents in some battery packs. In response, Tesla has shipped those trucks back to Gigafactory, Texas to replace the defective cells. According to the report, Cybertruck is the only Tesla vehicle built with Tesla’s own in-house 4680 battery cell.

A video on the YouTube channel The Electric Viking noted that the cells in the Cybertruck’s battery pack were glued together to preserve the battery pack’s structural integrity in the event of a crash. However, the video also noted this construction makes it difficult to replace individual battery cells and prompted Tesla to start replacing the entire battery pack.

The video can be seen here.