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A Cybertruck exploded outside the Trump International Hotel in Las Vegas on Wednesday, January 1, 2025. It was claimed that the explosion was caused primarily because the vehicle was packed with explosives. As per a CNN report from the same day, a video shared by the police during a press conference showed scorched gasoline canisters and firework mortars near the damaged truck.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk posted a tweet on January 1, 2025, in which he clarified that the explosion didn't happen due to any error of the vehicle itself.
On January 2, 2025, he shared another tweet connected to the explosion, which injured seven people. He tweeted:
"The battery pack never even caught fire and the tires are still inflated! Once we get this Cybertruck back to Tesla, we’ll buff out the scratches and get it back on the road."
The post gained traction on the social media platform and received about 1.9 million views, along with more than 22K likes. Netizens noticed the tweet and shared their respective opinions as well. Many highlighted the condition of the vehicle after the explosion. A user (@SteveDavidMike2) tweeted:
"Minor accident."
Many online weighed in, with one praising the engineering quality of the truck.
"Lol, undestructible truck indeed," another netizen wrote.
"Tis but a scratch," added a tweet.
"That Cybertruck in an explosion deserves to be in a museum as a testament to the quality of engineering that went into it," wrote another netizen.
Several other netizens had the same perspective, where they showed excitement after Musk revealed that the vehicle was going to be back on the streets.
"Can’t wait to see this beast back on the road!" one user wrote on X.
"No other car or truck on the road could have survived that blast any better," read a tweet.
"Please put this in a museum to signify Cybertruck’s pure power," commented a netizen.
Elon Musk apparently sent a team to look into the Cybertruck that was involved in the explosion
Elon Musk not only clarified that the explosion on January 1, 2025, was unrelated to the vehicle itself and was instead caused by explosives, but he also apparently sent a team to inspect the Cybertruck. The same has been reported by Mashable India in an article published on January 3, 2025.
On January 1, after the explosion happened, Elon Musk also tweeted stating that they chose a "wrong vehicle" to carry out a terrorist attack. According to Musk's tweet, the vehicle restricted the impact of the explosion, and the blast was directed upwards, thus reducing damage as much as possible. The tweet further read:
"Not even the glass doors of the lobby were broken."
This was even corroborated by the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department's sheriff, Kevin McMahill. While talking to CNN, McMahill expressed gratitude towards Elon Musk, adding that the build of the vehicle ensured minimum damages by 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 go up through the truck and out," he said.
According to the article by Mashable India, Musk also showed displeasure towards media outlets that presented news putting the Cybertruck in a bad light.
On January 1, Musk shared another tweet claiming that he believed the incidents in Las Vegas and New Orleans were connected. The same has, however, not been confirmed.
