On January 1, 2025, at 8:40 AM in Las Vegas, Nevada, a Tesla Cybertruck parked outside of the Trump International Hotel detonated, injuring seven pedestrians. The driver has been identified as US Army Green Beret Matthew Livelsberger, who was on leave at the time of the attack. Police found gasoline cannisters, camping fuel, and large firework mortars in the back of the truck. Livelsberger had multiple weapons, including an AR-15 pistol and Desert Eagle handgun. According to the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department, Livelsberger shot himself in the head prior to the explosion.
FBI officials have stated that this attack is believed to be an isolated incident, contrary to speculation that it is linked to the January 1 New Orleans car ramming attack, which killed 14 and injured 35 more.
Online, discourse in extremist spaces has focused on the potential significance of a Tesla car being used to attempt to bomb a Trump property and the idea that the bombing was a 'psy-op,' an operation – usually tied to military or government entities – intended to influence public opinion and attitudes. Several individuals posited the theory that military, government, or Zionist organizations could have utilized Tesla's self-driving feature to drive the corpse of a servicemember to the Trump Hotel in order to instill in the public the idea that military members are anti-Trump and/or anti-Elon Musk.
The following report will provide an overview of online neo-Nazis, white supremacist, and anti-government extremsists' reactions to the Las Vegas Cybertruck bombing.
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Neo-Nazi, White Supremacist, And Anti-Government Individuals' Reactions To Cybertruck Bombing
Online reactions to the bombing have been mixed, with many neo-Nazi, white supremacist, and anti-government individuals denying that the attack occurred at all, arguing it was staged, and referring to the incident as a psy-op. Extremists throughout the U.S., Canada, the U.K., France, and Australia weighed in on the debate.
A Canadian neo-Nazi affiliated shared links to a January 2 livestream of his show. This particular episode focused on the Cybertruck bombing and his theories about the attack.
On Telegram, an American neo-Nazi podcast posted a link on January 2 to a Daily Mail article about the Las Vegas Cybertruck bomber. The channel commented: "Guy is like a vetbro Trump Derangement Syndrome version of the Israeli embassy self barbecue," referring to Aaron Bushnell, the U.S. Air Force serviceman who self-immolated in front of the Israeli embassy in Washington, D.C.
An antisemitic conspiracy theorist published a post on X on January 2 stating that the New Orleans terrorist and the man who detonated a Cybertruck in Las Vegas were part of "CIA/Mossad" ops. He claims to have vetted information proving this.
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