A soldier who blew up a Tesla Cybertruck outside a Trump hotel in Las Vegas “used generative AI” to plan the attack, according to police.
Matthew Livelsberger, 37, a US Army Green Beret, reportedly used AI – including ChatGPT to plan explosion outside the main entrance of the Trump International Hotel on New Year’s Day morning. Kevin McMahill, sheriff of the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department, called the use of generative AI a “game changer.” He added: “This is the first incident I’m aware of on US soil where ChatGPT is utilised to help an individual build a particular device. It’s a concerning moment.”
Sheriff McMahill added during the press conference that Livelsberger did not have a criminal record and was not being tracked by the FBI or any other law enforcement organisation. Livelsberger fatally shot himself outside the hotel just before the Cybertruck blew up.
Police later reviewed Livelsberger’s search history on ChatGPT and said he was looking for information about explosive targets, the speed of certain types of ammunition and if fireworks were legal in Arizona. Livelsberger also left notes labelled explosion as he believed the blast would be a “wake-up call” for the US.
Livelsberger also claimed to have been “terminally ill and heading towards collapse.” The soldier’s notes included political grievances, domestic and international issues, including the war in Ukraine.
But officials said he held no ill will toward incoming Republican President Donald Trump and said the nation needed to “rally around” both him and Tesla CEO Elon Musk. Livelsberger added he wanted to “cleanse” his mind of the “brothers I’ve lost and relieve myself of the burden of the lives I took.”
The FBI said Livelsberger served in the army since 2006 and had been deployed twice to Afghanistan. The bureau added Livelsberger likely suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder and that there might have been “potential other family issues or personal grievances in his own life that could have been “contributing factors.”
Officials said Livelsberger acted alone and that the incident had been a “tragic case of suicide.” The blast outside the hotel injured seven people but did little damage to the hotel itself.
Eric Trump, son of the incoming president, commented at the time on X/Twitter praising the fire department and local law enforcement “for their swift response and professionalism. Tesla boss Musk said in a January 1 social media post: “Cybertruck is the worst possible choice for a car bomb, as its stainless steel armour will contain the blast better than any other commercial vehicle.”
Get email updates with the day’s biggest stories