Soldier leaves note explaining why he turned a cybertruck into a suicide bomb
A note left on an iPhone reveals part of Matthew Livelsberg’s motivation for blowing himself up and a Cybertruck in front of the Donald Trump Hotel in Las Vegas this week.
The 37-year-old Green Beret, who the FBI said suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder, had “no animosity” toward Trump and wrote that the explosion “was not a terrorist attack.”
Lifsberg did make it clear, however, that he was dissatisfied with the current state of affairs in the country.
Matthew Livelsberger’s profile photo on LinkedIn. / LinkedIn
“This is not a terrorist attack, this is a wake-up call,” he wrote. “Americans are all about spectacle and violence. What better way to get my point across than with a show of fireworks and explosives?
Apparently, his view is that America, “the best country people ever lived,” is “ terminally ill ” and heading toward “collapse.”
“Service members, veterans, and all Americans, it’s time to wake up!” Lifsberg wrote. “We are being led by weak and incompetent leadership who are only making themselves richer.”
On January 1, 2025, in Las Vegas, Nevada, the United States, a Tesla Cybertruck exploded and caught fire outside the Trump International Hotel in Las Vegas.
The timing and symbolism of the explosion led some to speculate that he chose a Cybertruck — Elon Musk’s automotive crown jewel — and blew it up in front of the Trump Hotel because he opposed the election The president and his new top allies.
Lifsberg’s notes, however, paint a different—perhaps more confusing—picture.
“Why am I doing it myself now?” he wrote. “I needed to clear my mind of the brother I lost and lighten the burden of the life I had taken.”
Lifsberger was the only person killed in the explosion, but seven bystanders were injured in the New Year’s Day blast.
On Thursday, a law enforcement source told The Daily Beast that Lifsberg’s family told investigators that he was a “die-hard” Trump fan who voted for him in November. Another report by independent Confirming this, his uncle said his nephew “loved Trump” and was “a very, very patriotic soldier, a patriotic American.”
Late Thursday, more details about Lifsberg emerged, including reports that his second wife left him days before his suicide.
The latest update from police Friday afternoon included a series of new photos of Lifsberg, including his partially burned passport and screenshots of charging stations between his hometown of Colorado Springs and Las Vegas.
Matthew Livelsberger charges his rented Cybertruck. /Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department
Just before the Cybertruck he rented exploded, Lifsberg stuffed a pistol into his mouth and pulled the trigger. The FBI said Friday that the vehicle never entered self-driving mode, appearing to put to rest a conspiracy that Liversberg was framed and killed before arriving at the Trump International Hotel.
Lifsberg’s LinkedIn profile shows he served in the Army for 19 years, including a tour of duty in Afghanistan. Most recently, he was working in Germany but has been granted leave to return to the United States.
Lifsberg’s ex-girlfriend tells us washington post He suffered a brain trauma while serving overseas, which left him with “blurred memory, difficulty concentrating, difficulty maintaining relationships, and intense guilt about his actions on the battlefield.”
