Tesla CEO Elon Musk has stated that he would consider suing certain media reports regarding the explosion of a Cybertruck outside the Trump Hotel in Las Vegas on Wednesday, January 1.
After the explosion, Musk has been defending the safety of the Cybertruck on his social media platform X. Conservative activist Robby Starbuck took to X to urge Musk to take legal action against media outlets reporting on the incident, saying, “Honestly, @elonmusk should consider suing the media reporting this way. These headlines are damaging @Tesla’s brand image, making people think vehicles are spontaneously combusting. On average, a Tesla will have a fire every 130 million miles compared to other vehicles, which have a fire every 18 million miles.”
In response, Musk said, “Perhaps it’s time to do so.”
During a press conference, Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department Sheriff Kevin McMahill stated, “Due to it being a Cybertruck, this greatly limited the damage caused inside the hotel lobby, as the primary force of the explosion was directed upwards through the truck.”
McMahill remarked that the explosion “did not achieve the effect the suspect had originally intended.”
Musk retweeted a video of the press conference and wrote, “These evil idiots chose the wrong vehicle for a terror attack. The Cybertruck actually absorbed the explosive impact and directed it upward. Not even the lobby’s glass doors were shattered.”
On Wednesday, a Tesla Cybertruck explosion occurred in front of the Trump Tower in Las Vegas. On Thursday, the U.S. Army and local police confirmed that the suspect was active-duty Special Forces soldier Matthew Livelsberger. He was deceased prior to the explosion.
Footage and photos from the scene after police clearance indicate that the damaged Cybertruck still maintained a relatively intact appearance.