Shocking video shows the moment a Tesla Cybertruck explodes
A Tesla Cybertruck sat outside the Trump International Hotel in Las Vegas for just 15 seconds before it exploded.
Tesla vehicle telematics and records from a Cybertruck are providing key insights into the New Year’s Day explosion in Las Vegas – data that may not have been available decades ago but which raise troubling questions about how governments and companies track personal travel information.
On Wednesday morning, the vehicle was parked in front of the International Trump Hotel when the explosion went off, injuring seven people. The driver, identified as Matthew Livelsberger, 37, fatally shot himself moments before the Cybertruck exploded. Canisters of fuel, fireworks and two semi-automatic firearms were later discovered in the back of the vehicle, which was rented in Colorado from peer-to-peer car-sharing company Turo Dec. 28.
Authorities continue to investigate whether it was an act of terrorism and traced the Cybertruck’s route from Denver to Las Vegas using Tesla charging station records and other data commonly collected by car manufacturers.
On Wednesday, Tesla CEO Elon Musk confirmed on X that the explosion was unrelated to the Cybertruck itself. “All vehicle telemetry was positive at the time of explosion,” Musk tweeted.
The tracking of the precise movements of the Vegas bomber sheds light on the ubiquitous digital age technology sleuthing to show people’s movements, habits and where they are going. As modern-day cars are built with sophisticated computers, drivers face a growing reality where their actions on the road are constantly logged and analyzed, raising concerns among technology experts about ethics and privacy.
“Most consumers actually don’t understand what data is being collected,” Jodi Daniels, founder and CEO of privacy consultancy firm Red Clover Advisors, told USA TODAY. “Most people are like, I put gas in it and I charge it and there’s an engine, and they’re not thinking about computers, data and cameras.”
Modern cars are equipped with numerous onboard computers, enabling features like navigation, app-based unlocking, camera-recording and self-autonomous driving capabilities. “We’re forgetting it’s not the car from decades ago, it’s totally different, it’s all based on computers and what computers do is function on data has to be collected and stored somewhere,” she said.
But the big question is: Whose data is it?
“If I own the car or I rent the car or I lease the car, is it my data? Is it the manufacturer’s data?” Daniels said. Automakers and dealerships often analyze data from millions of drivers to improve their vehicles and safety features. However, the data collection and sharing can be a “little bit of a gray zone,” according to Daniels.
A lawsuit filed against General Motors from the Texan Attorney General in August alleged the Detroit automaker violated Texans’ privacy rights for selling driver data to insurance companies without their consent, which often led to a rise in their premiums.
Many drivers opt into data-collecting unaware that they can choose not to, or the privacy policy their manufacturer has is often too vague to understand, Daniels said. Even if someone does allow their data to be gathered, policies can change, and what they originally consented to may no longer align with how their information is used. “Those parties need to be good responsible companies, balancing what it is they’re trying to collect with the safety of cars and people with their own selfish interest and putting the consumer first,” she said.
Daniels calls it an “education gap.” She added, “They’re just forgetting the significant digital data everywhere. People download apps all day long, they don’t think about it.”
Tesla states in its Customer Privacy Notice that a Tesla car “generates vehicle, diagnostic, infotainment system, and Autopilot data” but “does not associate that data with your identity or account by default,” including camera recordings. The notice also states Tesla may share information with service providers, business partners and affiliates; third parties you authorize and other third parties as required by law.
Tesla did not immediately respond to USA TODAY’s request for comment.
“There is a history of abuse of the kind of data that Tesla collects about its drivers,” said Eva Galperin, director of cybersecurity at the Electronic Frontier Foundation. Between 2019 and 2022, Tesla employees were internally sharing invasive videos and recordings from customer cars, both when on and off, including when someone was naked and road rage incidents, according to interviews by Reuters with nine former employees.
When it comes to law enforcement, many companies also provide data for a court order or warrant. Last year, at least three Tesla cars were towed by the Oakland Police Department for information the vehicles may have captured in connection with nearby crimes.
Galperin added that it’s important to note that the Cybertruck used in the blast was rented, so “you can expect every form of tracking to be turned on,” compared to driving your own personal vehicle.
There are no current federal regulations when it comes to the privacy of vehicle-collected data, although some states such as California have some protections. “I don’t think there’ll be something on the federal level in say, the next four years,” Galperin said.
As car technology advances and self-driving vehicles, such as the Cybertruck, become more prevalent, concerns about privacy are likely to grow.
“There are all different levels of surveillance, all potential vectors of attack not just by hackers but also abusers in domestic abuse situations and by governments and law enforcement,” she said. “I think people are rightfully concerned about their cars and really don’t have enough protection right now.”