NOLA terror attack addendum

UPDATE 07:21 pm:  Curiouser and curiouser...

A Tesla Cybertruck burst into flames outside the front doors of the Trump International Hotel in Las Vegas on the morning of Jan. 1, killing the car’s driver and injuring seven more.

Emergency personnel said that two people were hospitalized as a result of the apparent attack.

Authorities described the explosives in the vehicle as a combination of fireworks, camping fuel and gas tanks, according to CNN.

[...]

The electric vehicle was obtained via private rental app Turo, according to a law enforcement source who spoke with the Associated Press—the same app allegedly used by a man who plowed into a crowd of New Years’ revelers in a truck on New Orleans’ Bourbon Street early Wednesday morning, killing 15 people and injuring more than 30 others. Authorities are also investigating that mass killing as an act of terrorism, and whether the two acts were connected.

  Daily Beast

UPDATE 1/2/25:

While officials have not confirmed a link between the Las Vegas explosion and the New Orleans pickup truck attack, both suspects served in the Army.

President Biden said Wednesday that authorities are still working to determine if the two incidents were connected. Both suspects used vehicles from the peer-to-peer rental app Turo.

Matthew Alan Livelsberger was a member of the U.S. Army Special Operations Command (USASOC) and was "on approved leave at the time of his death," an Army spokesperson told Axios in a statement Thursday.

  Axios

The Trump team completely expected response:

Rep. Michael Waltz (R-FL), who President-elect Donald Trump has tapped as his national security adviser, said Thursday that the incoming administration should respond to the attack in New Orleans—which was carried out by a U.S. citizen from Texas—by closing the border.

“First and foremost, close our border,” Waltz, a former Green Beret, said on Fox & Friends when asked what should be done to protect the nation from further attacks.

  Daily Beast

Three guesses, first two don't count

Is it just me, or do there seem to be an inordinate number of Teslas catching fire?

...but hey, do what you want...you will anyway.

UPDATE 03:44 pm:

Video of the explosion from a security camera:  

During a press conference, LVMPD Sheriff Kevin McMahill shared that the sole victim was inside the vehicle during the explosion.

[...]

Elon Musk has also added that the whole Tesla senior team is investigating the incident, adding, “We’ve never seen anything like this.”

  KOLOTV

UPDATE 07:24 pm:

The user who first posted a video of the explosion said that the car immediately burst into flames after parking at the hotel’s valet stand.

[...]

The electric vehicle was obtained via private rental app Turo, according to a law enforcement source who spoke with the Associated Press—the same app allegedly used by a man who plowed into a crowd of New Years’ revelers in a truck on New Orleans’ Bourbon Street early [this] morning, killing 15 people and injuring more than 30 others. Authorities are also investigating that mass killing as an act of terrorism, and whether the two acts were connected.

  Daily Beast

UPDATE 1/5/25:   A thread about the perpetrator: