Police are investigating the cybertruck explosion at the Trump Las Vegas hotel

Police are investigating the explosion of a Tesla Cybertruck outside the Trump Hotel in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Police said the cybertruck stopped in front of the hotel on Wednesday near the glass entrance, and then smoke came from the vehicle and exploded.

The driver was killed and seven others were injured, the police said without naming the people involved. Officials said all injuries were minor.

The fire broke out at about 0840 PT (1540 GMT), hours after ten people were killed when a man drove a truck into a crowd in New Orleans, Louisiana, on New Year’s Day.

Sheriff Kevin McMahill of the Las Vegas Police Department said officials were “well aware of what happened in New Orleans”, referring to the terrorist attacks including explosives found near the scene in Louisiana.

“As you can imagine, with the explosion here on Las Vegas Boulevard, we are taking every step we have to take to keep our community safe,” he said during a news conference.

“Obviously, the cybertruck, the Trump Hotel, there are a lot of questions that we have to answer as we move forward,” he added.

Mr. McMahill said there is no longer a threat to the Las Vegas community.

Fire department officials said emergency crews worked quickly to put out the car fire.

They added that the public should stay away from the area and the hotel should be evacuated, with most of the tourists moving elsewhere.

In a statement sent to X, Tesla CEO Elon Musk said “the entire Tesla executive team is currently investigating this matter. We will send more information as soon as we learn anything. We have never seen anything like this”.

The hotel is partly owned by President-elect Donald Trump. In a text posted on X, Trump’s son, Eric Trump, said “an electric car fire was reported at the porte cochère of Trump Las Vegas”.

“The safety and well-being of our guests and employees remains our top priority. We extend our heartfelt thanks to the Las Vegas Fire Department and local law enforcement for their quick and professional response,” he said.

Videos of the incident circulating on social media show a cybertrack truck in front of the Trump Hotel entrance before the fire broke out.

Stephen Ferlando told the Washington Post that he saw the incident from his hotel room on the 53rd floor of Trump Tower. He told the store that it “definitely exploded” and that the windows started shaking.

The Trump Hotel has 64 floors with about 1,300 suites, according to its website.

Trump recently appointed Musk to lead the presidential advisory commission, the Department of Government Efficiency, after the two became close during Trump’s campaign.