Despite a meticulously thought out suicide bomb plan, the route taken by the Cybertruck bomber from Colorado to Nevada hints at an embarrassing mistake.
Law enforcement officials identified Matthew Livelsberger, 37, as the person who rented a Cybertruck, filled it with explosives and detonated it outside Donald Trump’s Las Vegas hotel on January 1.
Now, a map of the route he took from Denver to Las Vegas revealed that he not only drove four hours out of the way, but made a stop in Las Vegas, New Mexico.
The strangely long and meandering journey has sparked speculations that he put the wrong destination into the GPS.
The fastest route from Denver to Las Vegas, Nevada is via I-70 W and I-15 S, which would have taken a total driving time of 11 hours and eight minutes.
Instead, the highly-decorated Army Special Forces Master Sergeant traveled I-25 S to I-40 W, which was 15 hours and 28 minutes.
The map, created by the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department of Nevada, also shows that he stopped to charge the Cybertruck eight times.
According to Tesla, Cybertrucks can travel up to 325 miles on a single charge. But the furthest distance Livelsberger drove between charges was only 148 miles, less than half that maximum distance.
Authorities have mapped the route that ‘Cybertruck bomber’ Matthew Livelsberger took from Denver, CO to Las Vegas, NV in the days leading up to his attack on a Trump International Hotel
If Livelsberger had taken the faster route, 1-70 W to 1-15 S, he would have encountered at least 14 Tesla charging stations along the way, suggesting that access to charging stations appears unlikely to be the reason Livelsberger chose the longer route.
Interestingly, 1-25 S is almost a straight shot to Las Vegas, New Mexico, one of the locations where he stopped to charge.
When comparing his chosen route to the more direct one, it appears as though Livelsberger mistakenly mapped himself to the wrong Las Vegas, many have speculated on social media.
‘I wonder if he went to Las Vegas, NM then realized he was in the wrong place,’ one X user posted.
‘Imagine his embarrassment when he ended up in the wrong Las Vegas first,’ wrote another.
To add another layer of weirdness to Livelsberger’s movements, it would appear that he stopped to charge more often than he needed to during his trip.
The furthest distance he drove between charges was only 148 miles, less than half the distance a Cybertruck can travel on a single charge.
Law enforcement officials have identified Matthew Livelsberger, 37, as the person who rented a Cybertruck, filled it with explosives and detonated it outside the Las Vegas hotel on January 1
Photos from traffic cameras were used to piece together the Cybertruck’s movements throughout Las Vegas on January 1
The Cybertruck pulled into the valet area of the Trump hotel for the second time at 8:39am. Within 17 seconds, the truck exploded. The driver shot themselves just moments before
On December 28, Livelsberger rented the Cybertruck in Denver, Colorado using the peer-to-peer car rental platform Turo.
Heading southeast, the truck made a stop in Monument, Colorado on December 30, where it was charged.
That same day, Livelsberger legally purchased two semi-automatic handguns, according to Kenny Cooper, assistant special agent in charge of ATF’s San Francisco field division.
On December 31, the Cybertruck made several charging stops in the following locations: Trinidad, Colorado; Las Vegas, New Mexico; Albuquerque, New Mexico; and Gallup, New Mexico.
The contents of the Tesla Cybertruck after the explosion outside the Trump International Hotel Las Vegas on January 1, 2025
Among the charred items found inside the truck were a handgun at Livelsberger’s feet, another firearm, a number of fireworks, a passport, credit cards, an iPhone, a smartwatch and his military ID
On January 1, the day of the explosion, the truck was charged in Holbrook, Flagstaff and Kingman, Arizona. That final charge was made at 5:33am about 100 miles away from Las Vegas, Nevada.
The truck was first spotted in Las Vegas, Nevada around 7:30am on January 1.
At 7:34am, the truck was seen turning onto Fashion Show Drive, where the Trump International Hotel is located.
The Cybertruck pulled through the valet at the hotel, then spent the next hour — from 7:34 to 8:35am — driving at several different locations along Las Vegas Boulevard.
The truck spent nearly 45 minutes in a commercial parking lot near Las Vegas Boulevard and Flamingo Road.
At 8:35am, the Cybertruck pulled onto Las Vegas Boulevard from Sands Avenue.
The Cybertruck once again pulled into the valet area of the Trump hotel at 8:39am. Within 17 seconds, the truck exploded.
At some point during those 17 seconds, the driver shot themselves in the head, according to Clark County Sheriff Kevin McMahill.
Pictured are items found in the back of the Tesla Cybertruck which exploded in front of Trump International Hotel in las Vegas
The driver was killed and burned beyond recognition. But Clark County Sherrif Kevin McMahill. aid investigators obtained charging station photos showing Livelsberger was the driver
The driver was killed and burned beyond recognition. But McMahill said investigators obtained charging station photos showing Livelsberger ‘was the individual that was driving this vehicle’ and was alone.
According to the coroner’s report, his cause of death was suicide by gunshot.
The explosion caused injuries to seven people, but virtually no damage to the hotel. Livelsberger was the only fatality.
It is likely that Livelsberger planned a more damaging attack, but the steel-sided vehicle absorbed much of the force from the crudely-built explosive, McMahill said.
Upon inspecting the wreckage, authorities found firework mortars and camp fuel canisters stuffed into the back of the Cybertruck, indicating that this was a planned, intentional attack.
At this time, authorities are still working to determine Livelsberger’s motive.
