What you need to know about Matthew Livelsberger, the former Green Beret arrested in the Cybertruck explosion

Officials have identified the driver of a Tesla Cybertruck that was full of explosives and fuel and exploded outside the Trump International Hotel in Las Vegas, killing the driver and injuring seven others.

The Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department said they believe Colorado Springs resident Matthew Livelsberger, 37, was in the driver’s seat when the truck exploded, although the body has not yet been identified. Police say Livelsberger died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound before the explosion. A gun was found at his feet, police said.

LVMPD Sheriff Kevin McMahill said at a press conference Thursday that a charred body was found in the car but they were able to identify him from troopers’ IDs, credit cards and a passport found at the scene.

“His body was burned beyond recognition and I’m still not 100 percent sure that’s the person inside our car,” said McMahill. “I’m not going back until I have confirmation through DNA or medical records that this is actually the issue inside the car.”

Officials believe Livelsberger acted alone and a motive remains under investigation.

Las Vegas police said they responded to a report of an explosion at the Trump International Hotel in Las Vegas on Wednesday around 8:40 a.m. A rented 2024 Tesla Cybertruck exploded near the hotel’s front doors and burst into flames. Authorities found camp fuel as well as gasoline cans and explosives in the bed of the truck.

Authorities tracked Livelesberger’s movements from Colorado to Las Vegas and determined he was the only one who rented and drove the Cybertruck, McMahill said.

Traffic near the Trump International Hotel in Las Vegas on Wednesday.

(Ty O’Neil/Associated Press)

Both Livelsberger and Shamsud-Din Jabbar, who has been identified as the man who drove a truck into crowds on Bourbon Street in New Orleans early Wednesday, previously served at the Army’s Ft. Bragg, now known as Ft. Liberty, North Carolina, but it is unclear whether they served at the same time or in the same unit. Both men served in Afghanistan again in 2009, although officials said they had no evidence they were in the same country or in the same unit, McMahill said. Both use the rental company Turo to rent their cars.

Livelsberger was in the US Army and served as a Green Beret sergeant, spending most of his time at Ft. Carson in Colorado and Germany. He was on an approved leave from Germany when he died.

Livelsberger rented a Cybertruck in Denver on Dec. 28 and charged the vehicle at Tesla charging stations throughout Colorado and New Mexico, McMahill said. The car was followed around 5:33 a.m. Wednesday in Kingman, Ariz., and was first seen in Las Vegas around 7:29 a.m.

According to surveillance footage, Livelsberger entered Trump’s hotel lobby and 17 seconds later, an explosion erupted.

The explosion was caused by “very large explosives and/or a bomb that was carried in the bed of a rented Cybertruck,” Elon Musk, Tesla’s chief executive, said in a statement on X.

Livelsberger served as a special forces commander in the US Army since 2006 before transitioning to commander of remote and autonomous systems two months ago, according to his LinkedIn profile.

On his Facebook profile, Livelsberger once criticized the withdrawal of US troops from Afghanistan in 2021. He called it “the biggest foreign policy failure in the history of the United States.”

“Bet Bolton received a large amount of money from the DNC and other small donors to publish this book,” he wrote in a comment, referring to former US national security adviser John Bolton and his memoir released in 2020.

When accused of being the mastermind of a conspiracy, Livelsberger replied: “It is not a conspiracy when it is obvious that someone is making money from demos.”

In another comment, Berg responded to a woman on Facebook who was complaining about the sounds of fireworks. He wrote: “It was amazing to hear the sounds of war.

A police car near Trump’s hotel Wednesday in Las Vegas.

(Ty O’Neil/Associated Press)

A military spokesman confirmed that Livelsberger was on authorized leave at the time of his death. He entered the active Army in December 2012 and became a Green Beret candidate after serving in the Army and National Guard.

The agency said in a statement that it is “fully cooperating with federal and state law enforcement agencies, but as a matter of policy, will not comment on ongoing investigations.”

FBI officials in Denver confirmed in a statement that they have begun searching a residence in Colorado Springs in connection with the case and will be there for several hours.

“This activity is related to the explosion in Las Vegas,” the FBI wrote to X.

Two automatic rifles, purchased by the Livelsbergers on Monday, were found inside the vehicle, McMahill said. Investigators are looking into how explosives and gas and fuel drums placed in the back of the car were ignited.

Also under investigation is whether Livelsberger intentionally targeted one of Trump’s properties. Musk is a close adviser to the president-elect.

“It’s not lost on us that it’s in front of the Trump building that it’s a Tesla car, but we don’t have any information right now that tells us directly or suggests that it’s because of this idea or other reasons behind it,” said Las Vegas FBI Special Agent in Charge Spencer Evans.

Staff writer Hannah Fry contributed to this report.