Cybertruck Explosion Driver Was Reality TV Competitor
New details are emerging about Matthew Livelsberger, the 37-year-old veteran and former U.S. Army Green Beret who drove a Tesla Cybertruck that exploded outside the Trump International Hotel in Las Vegas on New Year’s Day.
Inside Edition shared a video on Friday showing Livelsberger competing on the History Channel’s “Ultimate Soldier Challenge.” He appeared on the show alongside Tim Kennedy, a fellow soldier and ex-UFC fighter.
The program features soldiers from various nations competing to determine which team demonstrates superior military skills.
Livelsberger and Kennedy, representing the Special Forces team, won the competition.
On the show, Livelsberger went by the name Matt Berg. Kennedy told Inside Edition it took him several hours to recognize him after the New Year’s Day incident.
“It took about twelve hours of me seeing some photos as more photos started coming out of, you know, who he was. And then I saw Matt Berg with an older photo of him, and I was like, ‘Oh no, dude, I know that guy,’” Kennedy said.
This realization, he admitted, “tore my heart out,” as he remembered Livelsberger as “a really great Green Beret.”
Kennedy shared glowing memories of Livelsberger, describing him as “charming,” “talented,” “personable,” and “kind,” adding, “He was all the things that you’d expect from a Green Beret.”
Reflecting on the explosion, Kennedy remarked, “It just categorically does not make sense” that Livelsberger, whom he had known so well, could have been involved.
“From everything that I have heard, he was universally valued by his team, by his peers,” Kennedy said, calling the situation “horrifically heartbreaking.”
Kennedy’s recollections add an even more perplexing layer to the story.
Livelsberger had rented the Cybertruck through the Turo car-sharing app. Coincidentally, Shamsud-Din Jabbar, the driver responsible for killing 14 people in a truck accident on Bourbon Street in New Orleans on the same day, also used Turo.
One day before the explosion, Livelsberger sent an email to retired U.S. Army intelligence officer Sam Shoemate, in which he raised concerns about a potential Chinese attack on the eastern seaboard of the United States. He also referenced alleged war crimes in Afghanistan that he claimed were being covered up.
In the email, Livelsberger urged veterans, servicemembers, and citizens to “wake up.” He warned that the nation was “being led by weak and feckless leadership who only serve to enrich themselves.”
Spencer Evans, an FBI official from the Las Vegas division, characterized the explosion as “a tragic case of suicide involving a heavily decorated combat veteran who is struggling with PTSD and other issues,” according to The Denver Post.
Authorities have concluded that Livelsberger acted alone and found no ties to terrorist organizations.
As more details emerge, Kennedy’s positive memories of Livelsberger deepen the mystery, adding to the complexity of an already heartbreaking story.