One dead, seven injured as Cybertruck explodes outside Trump’s hotel in Las Vegas
www.theverge.com
The vehicle was parked directly outside the hotel doors.

A Cybertruck ‘blew up’ outside Trump’s hotel in Las Vegas

    • Boddhisatva@lemmy.world
      1333·
      3 days ago

      From another article…

      While some early Tesla models, including the Model S, were prone to spontaneously catch fire if they suffered underbody damage, it’s unlikely the Cybertruck, which has been recalled seven times since it went on sale in November 2023, was released with a similar flaw.

      Nah, no chance a cybertruck would have the same flaw. No chance at all, am I right?

      • justOnePersistentKbinPlease@fedia.io
        731·
        3 days ago

        It has a whole new set of flaws that result in the same outcome.

        Saw one in daylight for the first time yesterday. They’re so big they don’t fit in Costco’s ridiculously oversized parking stalls.

          • Cocodapuf@lemmy.world
            3·
            3 days ago

            Is that bad? (Actual question) I mean the f-150 is probably the most popular truck model ever. So I wouldn’t think it’s an unfavorable comparison.

            • NotMyOldRedditName@lemmy.world
              42·
              3 days ago

              I don’t think it’s bad that its smaller than a F150. People like to harp on it though as if it’s this massive monstrosity like OP without realizing it’s the size of the most popular truck. I see F150’s parked at Costco just fine all the time.

              Should all trucks be smaller? Sure, maybe, but I wouldn’t really hold the CT’s size against it. It’s also much shorter than other trucks at least at the front which is better for safety in general (even if you think the Cybertruck isn’t safe, being shorter is still safer). I’ve seen some trucks where their front flat grill is up to my neck. It’s kinda ridiculous.

              • GiuseppeAndTheYetiEnglish
                2·
                3 days ago

                The being made of steel and featuring sharp angles makes the whole ‘being lower is safer point’ moot. It would cut people in half if it hits them at speed.

                • NotMyOldRedditName@lemmy.world
                  1·
                  3 days ago

                  We’ll have to see what the impact damage from that actually ends up being after collisions, but with the lower front and sloped hood/windshield, there’s the possibility of a better chance of being maimed from the steel and thrown onto the windshield, than rammed into, knocked over, and then driven over by a flat high front.

                  Some people would choose maimed over the more likely dead from the tall flat fronts. But some people might not want the maiming it will possibly do either.

                  If it isn’t enough to throw you onto the windshield though, then you’ll be maimed AND run over ;)

                  Edits for clarity, but also, I’ve wondered if this lower bumper is to reduce the SS impact and try to get you onto the hood? Also for all trucks with adjustable suspensions, I think a great pedestrian feature would be to drop the front immediately upon detection of imminent pedestrian impact. I don’t know how fast they could lower it in an emergency, but any amount should help.

              • Rhaedas@fedia.io
                2·
                3 days ago

                It looked bigger, and given everything else about it the turn radius probably sucks too, so might as well be huge. I’d give credit if it was due, and was actually excited when Tesla first announced they’d do a truck…thinking of all the possibilities that everyone else thought. What we got was not that.

                • NotMyOldRedditName@lemmy.world
                  2·
                  3 days ago

                  In case you would miss an edit…

                  Re: One of the best turning radius due to 4 wheel steering

                  Turning Circle from Motor Trend

                  F150 Lightning 48.0 ft

                  Rivian 44.9 ft

                  CT 43.5 ft

                  Edit (not from MotorTrend but GMs site): Silverado EV - 42.16 ft (also has 4 wheel steering)

          • justOnePersistentKbinPlease@fedia.io
            55·
            3 days ago

            F-150 has a turning radius of 27.3 feet, length of 232 inches, width of 80 inches. Hummer EV has a turning radius of 37 feet, length of 206 inches, width of 93.7 inches Rivian R1T has a turning radius of 22.3 feet, length of 217 inches width of 81.8

            Cybertruck has a turning radius of 43.5 feet, length of 231 inches, width of 77 inches.

            Okay, so the length “advantage” it has over the F-150 is roughly 0.4% of their length.

            It is very slightly thinner than its competition, but its turning radius is 18% larger than its nearest competitor, which is the absolutely massive Hummer EV

            In compairson to the f-150, it is 60% larger, and only has a bed capacity of 52.2 cubic feet(within the roller door) compared to the F150s 52.8 cubic feet.

            Cybertruck bed capacity made from calculating the area of the bed that fits inside the roller door and tailgate.

            • NotMyOldRedditName@lemmy.world
              5·
              3 days ago

              I think you might be mixing up units for the turning radius between the f150/rivian and the CT

              MotorTrend has the turning circle listed as

              F150 Lightning 48.0 ft

              Rivian 44.9 ft

              CT 43.5 ft

              Meanwhile the GM site says the Silverado EV is 42.16ft

              So your 2 numbers for F150/Rivian aren’t the same measurement as the CT 43.5

              Edit: Also the size comparison wasn’t about being an advatange or not, it was the person mocking the CT size when it was smaller than the countries best selling vehicle and favorite truck.

              Edit: And worth noting that the CT, Silverado and Hummer all have the better turning circles because of their 4 wheel steering. The hummer is 25 inches shorter, leading to its best score. The silverado is a couple inches longer, and has a tighter circle which is a nice job.

      • Buffalox@lemmy.world
        81·
        3 days ago

        Probably even MORE likely, since these trucks are way less safety regulated than normal cars.

      • Revan343@lemmy.ca
        61·
        3 days ago

        I mean yeah, it’s pretty unlikely, or we’d probably have seen more of these fires already.

        My money is on the owner doing/transporting something stupid. Stupider than buying a cybertruck, I mean

      • Cocodapuf@lemmy.world
        61·
        3 days ago

        Well, it’s certainly a different beast. Being a pickup, the chassis is higher off the ground than other teslas. The problem with other teslas was insufficient armor on the underbody, so road debris could puncture through the vehicle and damage batteries. On a pickup there’s both more room for (essentially) an armor plate and any debris would have to punch much higher up.

        All and all, these kinds of battery fires should be much less likely to occur on a truck than on a sedan.

        Edit: Upon actually watching that press conference from the sheriff and fire marshall, it seems clear to me from the language they’re using, that they’re treating this explosion as likely an intentional act. And I have to say, there’s a lot of damning evidence in that truck bed.

        • NotMyOldRedditName@lemmy.world
          3·
          3 days ago

          The battery pack also has a substantial amount of room between the bottom and the cells. It was so much, that at first people thought that was room for the double stack battery they had originally planned, but it turned out to not be enough space, and is just there to vent gas if cells catch on fire, and more room before a puncture during offroading can reach a cell.

        • psud@aussie.zone
          1·
          2 days ago

          That frame from the video of the vehicle looks like the cabin was undamaged. Good news for CT drivers if that is so

    • Cocodapuf@lemmy.world
      303·
      3 days ago

      Well, that is funny.

      However the battery didn’t explode, the truck bed was full of gasoline cans and fireworks.

      And the steel body of the truck bed actually did a great job of containing the explosion, focusing it mostly upward. The sheriff points out that the windows in the all glass front of that hotel weren’t even shattered because the blast was so well contained by the truck.

      • SkyezOpen@lemmy.world
        541·
        3 days ago

        Yeah, teslas are quite good at keeping things inside during emergency situations.

        Like people.

        • psud@aussie.zone
          310·
          2 days ago

          People in teslas back when they did regularly catch fire from hitting road debris had no trouble pulling over and getting out before fire got into the cabin

          They don’t need electricity to open the doors, and owners should really tell passengers how to open the doors manually

          Search for whichever model’s user manual for your country if you want to see how to open the doors

          • xtr0n@sh.itjust.works
            23·
            2 days ago

            Or, just hear me out, they could design the door so that people can intuitively figure out how to manually open the door in an emergency.

            • psud@aussie.zone
              113·
              2 days ago

              When it’s not an emergency the button to open the door is nice, and it’s hardly ever an emergency. The manual opening is easy enough that knowing about it is enough

              • Snapz@lemmy.world
                21·
                2 days ago

                “It’s hardly ever an emergency”

                Yeah, except for when it is… dipshit.

                I’d like to introduce you, for the very first time it seems, to the inherent nature of emergencies in general. Sorry the adults in your life all failed you (as us in turn)

                • psud@aussie.zone
                  2·
                  2 days ago

                  Unmarked jokes about teslas don’t seem to perform well here

                  I actually own a Tesla 3 which has (like all 3s) no emergency release in the back, so I added glass breaking hammers both sides

                  I do understand that emergency actions need to both easy and trained so a pull string in the door pocket isn’t nearly as good as a handle and even better you don’t need to tell every passenger how to get out when it’s a lever rather than a button

  • BadlyTimedLuck@lemmy.world
    51·
    3 days ago

    Wait, your telling me this was on purpose? I just thought the cyberjunk was so shit, someone visiting the building just HAPPENED to blow up

    • psud@aussie.zone
      34·
      2 days ago

      The vehicle’s battery was not damaged and did not catch fire.

      The cargo area was full of fuel and explosives - in the form of firework mortars.

      Explosives and fuel make a good fireball and fire. Fireworks being a 2 stage explosive (launch and pretty explosion), they may have expected the initial bang to disburse the fuel and the second to detonate it as a fuel/air explosive which would be very damaging, enough to take down the building.

      Obviously were that their goal they did not sufficiently test. The vehicle contained the initial explosion and all they got was a fire

      And the blast and fire exited through the passenger cabin, killing the driver. I hope it wasn’t a valet.

      I wonder if it was triggered accidentally early or badly set up and detonated on its own or remotely triggered too early.

      I bet they thought they’d light up the battery. Poor quality bombers

      • perestroika@lemm.ee
        7·
        2 days ago

        Poor quality bombers

        I’ve seen a source (poor quality source, won’t quote) that identifies the likely suspect as a former green beret. Also, CNN says:

        Authorities suspect that the driver had a background in military service, according to several law enforcement officials familiar with the investigation.

        They should not be poor quality bombers. In fact, they should be able to build a decent bomb by heart in several ways, if they learned anything at all.

        I’m at loss regarding what this guy actually intended to happen, and whether he achieved that.

        • Hypothesis A, inspired by claims of links to the New Orleans attack: failed terrorist suicide bombing?
        • Hypothesis B: intended to do big time vandalism and live, but something went wrong?
        • Hypothesis C: some sort of a suicide pact?
        • elucubra@sopuli.xyz
          10·
          2 days ago

          Military experience doesn’t necessarily equate to McGyvering. I did a tour as an Army scout. I can shoot a lot of weapons, use knives and other non pyrotechnic weapons, set-up mines, claymores, use plastic, even creative uses for mortar rounds and grenades, but we were never given training on things like making bombs out of windex and a mars bar

          • Maggoty@lemmy.world
            2·
            2 days ago

            Military experience is so random sometimes. I was in the regular, not special in any way, infantry and came away with how to do everything for an IED from make the ANFO, to putting it together, and how to hit a moving vehicle with it. To be fully honest it was also quite a while ago and now some of it is pretty vague in my head. But I would be unsurprised to find out other people kept notes from those days.

        • Maggoty@lemmy.world
          2·
          2 days ago

          The presence of fuel suggests he wanted to do major damage but did not know how to properly capitalize on it’s use. Sadly special operations guys are at high risk for CTE stuff. So it’s entirely possible he was living a distorted reality.

    • hansolo@lemm.eeEnglish
      8·
      2 days ago

      There are reports of a firework mortar and gas canister in the back. Looks very intentional and showy from the video. Stupid way to end one’s life, but that was part of it I think as well.

  • moopet@lemmy.dbzer0.comEnglish
    37·
    2 days ago

    It’s like the opposite of early-2000s games, where the car models had an ever-growing poly count but the fire was still an animated 2d sprite.

  • andyortlieb@lemmy.sdf.org
    581·
    3 days ago

    The weirdest thing about a cybertruck bomb is that the world has become so shit that it’s not even interesting. Like, I just cannot care because every day something insane happens.

    That’s the real fucking signal IMO.

  • Fedizen@lemmy.world
    22·
    2 days ago

    Says a lot that like nobody knew what to make of it until the propane tanks were found.

    Its still unclear if the driver intended for it to explode or if somebody tossed a bunch of flammables in the back and the truck lit it.

    • hansolo@lemm.eeEnglish
      5·
      2 days ago

      Thinking this through, they probably filled the car with gas until they couldn’t breathe and then hit the firework mortar to set it all off. Also gives them a higher chance of ending it all then, as opposed to the “oops, all fire!” version, which would have been a lingering way to go.

      • psud@aussie.zone
        4·
        3 days ago

        The explosion looked like it included fireworks and the fire looked like a liquid fuel fire - movie explosions are petrol (gasoline) bombs

        The vehicle contained it all pretty well, with the main exit for force and fire was via the window between the trunk and the cabin

        • lurklurk@lemmy.world
          1·
          2 days ago

          The vehicle contained it all pretty well, with the main exit for force and fire was via the window between the trunk and the cabin

          Engineered like a tank… but the tank is a T72

  • tal@lemmy.todayEnglish
    23·
    3 days ago

    The glass doors right next to the vehicle look intact in the image, so I can’t imagine that the explosion was very large.

    • orclev@lemmy.world
      302·
      3 days ago

      I don’t think it actually “exploded”, just caught fire. So you know, standard behavior for a Tesla.

      • kinkles@sh.itjust.works
        221·
        3 days ago

        There’s a video out now. It definitely exploded, but from my amateur digital forensics it looks like it was the result of a trunk full of fireworks instead of the car itself. I could be wrong.

          • Pregnenolone@lemmy.worldEnglish
            4·
            3 days ago

            The front door manual door releases for all current Teslas are on the door, right next to the opening button.

            You are right about the rear doors though - they are hard to find if you don’t already know.