FILE-First responders wearing Hazmat gear investigate a Tesla Cybertruck that exploded in front of the entrance to the Trump International Hotel & Tower Las Vegas on January 01, 2025 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)
A Green Beret who exploded a Tesla Cybertruck outside the Trump hotel in Las Vegas used generative AI including ChatGPT to help plan the attack, the Associated Press reported, citing Las Vegas police.
Matthew Livelsberger fatally shot himself on New Year’s Day before detonation, officials said according to writings, he didn't intend to kill anyone else.
RELATED: Tesla Cybertruck explosion outside Trump Las Vegas hotel: 1 dead, several injured
Authorities told the AP that the explosion caused minor injuries to seven people but there was no damage to the Trump International Hotel.
What did police say about the devices?
Kevin McMahill, sheriff of the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department, called the use of generative AI a "game-changer" and said the department was sharing information with other law enforcement agencies, the AP reported.
An investigation of Matthew Livelsberger’s searches through ChatGPT revealed he was searching for information on explosive targets, the rate at which certain rounds of ammunition would travel and whether fireworks were legal in Arizona.
New details released in case
Matthew Livelsberger stopped during the drive to Las Vegas to pour racing-grade fuel into the Cybertruck. The vehicle was loaded with 60 pounds of pyrotechnic material and 70 pounds of birdshot, but authorities are still not sure what detonated the explosion.
Police said Tuesday it could have been the flash from the gun that Livelsberger used to fatally shoot himself, according to the AP.
RELATED: Here’s what was inside the Cybertruck that exploded in Las Vegas
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Watch: Explosion in Cybertruck outside Trump hotel
The Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department provided updates and released this footage after an explosives-laden Cybertruck burned outside the front doors of the Trump International Hotel in Las Vegas on New Year’s Day.
Authorities released a journal Livelsberger kept titled "surveillance" or "surveil" log. It showed that Livelsberger believed he was being tracked by authorities, but he had no criminal record and was not on the police department's or FBI's "radar."
Citing police, the AP noted that the journal showed that Livelsberger thought about conducting his plans in Arizona at the Grand Canyon's glass skywalk, a tourist attraction on tribal land that towers high above the canyon floor.
According to officials, the journal also showed that Livelsberger was concerned that he would be labeled a terrorist, and that people would think he planned to kill others besides himself.
The AP reported that a video showed a flash in the truck that police said they think came from the muzzle of the gun Livelsberger used to shoot himself. Following the flash, video captured fire overwhelming the Cybertruck. An explosion then followed.
Who was Matthew Livelsberger?
Matthew Livelsberger, an Army Green Beret who deployed twice to Afghanistan and lived in Colorado Springs, Colorado, left notes saying the explosion was a stunt meant to be a "wake up call" for the nation's troubles, officials said last week.
According to the AP, Livelsberger left cellphone notes saying he needed to "cleanse" his mind "of the brothers I’ve lost and relieve myself of the burden of the lives I took."
Livelsberger’s letters described political complaints, societal problems, and domestic and international issues, including the war in Ukraine. He wrote that the U.S. was "terminally ill and headed toward collapse."
His letter didn’t express ill will toward President-elect Donald Trump, law enforcement officials shared with the AP. In one of the notes Livelsberger left, he said the country needed to "rally around" Trump and Tesla CEO Elon Musk.