A Tesla Cybertruck “exploded” in front of the Trump Hotel in Las Vegas, Nevada. The police are investigating the cause of the incident.
The incident took place on Wednesday morning at the Trump International Hotel in Las Vegas.
The fire was first reported around 9 am.
Shortly after, the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department confirmed that the fire had been extinguished and that they were investigating the situation:
We are investigating a car fire at the entrance to Trump Towers. The fire is out. Please avoid the area.
At this time, it is not clear if there were any injuries. Update: someone was reported to have been inside the Cybertruck and has been confirmed dead. Many other people were injured.
Due to the place where the incident happened, many people on social media were predicting that this could be an attack, but there is no evidence of that so far.
Eric Trump, executive vice president of the Trump Organization, commented on the incident and called it an “electric car fire”:
Earlier today, an electric car fire was reported in the porte cochère of Trump Las Vegas. The safety and well-being of our guests and staff is our top priority. We extend our heartfelt thanks to the Las Vegas Fire Department and local law enforcement for their quick and professional response.
Several witnesses described the incident as an “explosion.” Some say the Cybertruck pulled up to the valet stand, lowered itself (the Cybertruck is equipped with adaptive suspension), and smoke started coming out of the car.
Within seconds, the Cybertruck exploded “like fireworks,” based on surveillance video released (according to Gambling News):
Electric vehicle batteries can sometimes burn out, but statistically, they don't burn out at a higher rate than gasoline-powered cars.
There have been a few other incidents of Cybertrucks catching fire in the past few months, but they were after accidents.
If this is indeed a Cybertruck catching fire without foul play, it would be the first known incident without a crash.
We recently reported that Tesla has a problem with the Cybertruck's battery pack. Tesla called the problem a “cell dent.” Tesla has to replace the battery packs in many Cybertrucks, but there is no evidence that the problem is connected to the fires or the explosion.
Electrek's Take
There's a lot of speculation about the explosion at the moment, but it's best to let the experts figure it out.
Some speculate that because it was an explosion instead of a fire, it points to an actual explosive, but I think that's too early to tell and unlikely, in my opinion.
To be honest, I haven't seen many EV fires result in such explosions, but the Cybertruck uses unique battery cells made by Tesla. That might be a feature.
However, we have to wait for the investigation.
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