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New videos paint clearer picture of Trump Hotel Cybertruck explosion in Las Vegas

Two new videos have been released in relation to Wednesday's Cybertruck explosion outside the Trump International Hotel in Las Vegas as investigators try to piece together what caused an active-duty U.S. Army soldier to kill himself and then blow up the electric pick-up truck.

The first video shows the Tesla Cybertruck slowly leaving the hotel’s valet area earlier in the morning, while the second video is taken from inside the hotel and shows the truck exploding, sending flames and fireworks into the air. 

Investigators believe Matthew Livelsberger, 37, shot himself in the head before blowing up the futuristic-looking truck outside the iconic hotel, sending flames, fireworks and shrapnel upward just steps away from the hotel's glass doors.

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Livelsberger was the only fatality, although seven bystanders reported having minor injuries. A motive has yet to be established. The cause of death was suicide by gunshot, according to the Clark County coroner.

The first video is surveillance footage and shows who police say is Livelsberger driving the rented Cybertruck slowly out of the hotel’s valet area. Clark County Sheriff Kevin McMahill says Livelsberger then visited several places along the Las Vegas Strip, including stopping at the parking lot of a business near the Flamingo Hotel.

In another clip, the truck is stopped at traffic lights on Sands Avenue and then Livelsberger takes a right turn toward Trump International, where he ultimately stops outside the front doors and 17 seconds later the truck goes up in flames. 

Authorities say the truck contained gasoline and camp fuel containers, as well as large firework mortars. The explosion occurred just steps away from the hotel's glass doors, which were not damaged.

The second video, taken by a witness in the hotel’s lobby, shows the truck in flames after the initial explosion. An alarm inside the hotel can be heard going off and emergency lights are flashing.

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Two explosive bangs can be heard, followed by the sound of fireworks going off and then another explosion as the top of the truck remains on fire. The incident took place at around 8:40 a.m. local time. 

Among the charred items found inside the truck were a handgun at Livelsberger's feet, another firearm, a number of fireworks, a passport, a military ID, credit cards, an iPhone and a smartwatch, McMahill said. Authorities said both guns were purchased legally.

Livelsberger was a U.S. Army special operations soldier who had several addresses associated with him and was on leave from Germany, where he was serving with the 10th Special Forces Group.

Kenny Cooper, a special agent in charge of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, said the level of sophistication is not what officials would expect from an individual with this type of military experience.

Meanwhile, FBI Special Agent Spencer Evans added that investigators were looking for potential terror ties to Livelsberger but had not found any as of Thursday afternoon.

"The question about whether it's being investigated globally, absolutely – like I said, we're running down investigative leads around the world," he told reporters. "No information that we're aware of right now that connects this individual to any terrorist organization around the world, but that's obviously the thrust of the investigation…ruling out that there's any sort of terrorism nexus."

An Army spokesperson told Fox News that Livelsberger began active duty in the Army in January 2006 and reached the rank of master sergeant. 

Livelsberger spent time at the base formerly known as Fort Bragg, a massive Army base in North Carolina that is home to the Army Special Forces Command.

Livelsberger joined the National Guard from March 2011 to July 2012, followed by the Army Reserve from July 2012 to December 2012. Additionally, the U.S. Army Special Operations Command confirmed Livelsberger was on approved leave at the time of his death. 

Fox News’ Mitch Picasso and Michael Ruiz as well as The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Who is Matthew Livelsberger? What we know about the Tesla Cybertruck explosion suspect

The driver of the Tesla Cybertruck that blew up outside Trump International Hotel Las Vegas on New Year's Day has been identified as 37-year-old Matthew Alan Livelsberger, a U.S. Army service member from Colorado, U.S. officials said.

Livelsberger was shot in the head in what police believe was a self-inflicted gunshot prior to the detonation of the vehicle, police said.

Authorities used his tattoos, along with his credit cards, military identification and passport, to identify him at the scene.

"There are two tattoos, one of which was on the stomach and one of which is on the arm that we can see bits and pieces of it, as in comparison to what it is that we now know he had, on his body," Sheriff Kevin McMahill of the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department said Thursday.

"That has given us a lot of confidence that this is, in fact, the same person, as well as of which the clearly obvious, which is the credit cards, the military identification, the passport," he added.

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The 37-year-old recently returned from an overseas assignment in Germany and was on approved leave at the time of the incident, according to a U.S. official.

He had served in the Army since 2006, rising through the ranks.

"Master Sgt. Matthew Alan Livelsberger enlisted as an 18X and served in the active duty Army from January 2006 to March 2011. Livelsberger then joined the National Guard from March 2011 to July 2012, followed by the Army Reserve from July 2012 to December 2012. He entered the active duty Army in December 2012 and was a U.S. Army Special Operations Soldier," an Army spokesperson confirmed to Fox News.

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He was awarded a total of five Bronze Stars, including one with a valor device for courage under fire, a combat infantry badge and an Army Commendation Medal with valor.

He deployed twice to Afghanistan and also served in Ukraine, Tajikistan, Georgia and Congo, the Associated Press reported.

There has been speculation online over his political affiliations, but no confirmed reports of how he voted.

Livelsberger’s uncle, Dean, told The Independent that he "loved Trump."

"He loved Trump, and he was always a very, very patriotic solider, a patriotic American," Dean said. "It's one of the reason he was in Special Forces for so many years."

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Livelsberger appears to have at one point been married to Sara Livelsberger, a 38-year-old who lives in Delray Beach, Florida. The Denver Post reported that he had divorced in 2018 and remarried in 2022.

Fox News Digital has reached out to Sara Livelsberger for comment.

A Facebook page for Sara has been quiet since 2016, but makes multiple references to Livelsberger as her husband.

In Facebook posts from 2016, Sara said she was a registered Democrat and shared images that were disparaging of President-elect Trump. 

The Cybertruck was rented in Colorado, authorities said during a Wednesday news conference. 

The futuristic Tesla vehicle was complete with large firework mortars in the back and fuel canisters. It arrived in Las Vegas at about 7:30 a.m. local time Wednesday and drove up and down the strip before pulling into the Trump hotel. 

The vehicle was parked for about 20 seconds before it exploded, police said.

Authorities are continuing to investigate whether the incident was an act of terrorism, which came just hours after another U.S. veteran killed at least 15 people when he plowed a truck with an Islamic State flag down Bourbon Street in New Orleans.

Authorities are still working to determine a motive.

"It’s not lost on us that it’s in front of the Trump building, that it’s a Tesla vehicle, but we don’t have information at this point that definitively tells us or suggests it was because of this particular ideology," said Spencer Evans, the Las Vegas FBI’s special agent in charge.

Fox News Digital's Greg Wehner and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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