Reports: Family, friends of Cybertruck driver express shock

As authorities search for a motive behind the New Year’s Day truck explosion outside Trump International, friends and family of the driver — a decorated active-duty member of the U.S. Army — talked to the media about his life and what is known of his last days.

At a news conference, Metropolitan Police Department Sheriff Kevin McMahill said Matthew Livelsberger, 37, shot himself in the head Wednesday morning seconds before his rented Tesla Cybertruck exploded, injuring seven bystanders at the resort near the Strip.

Investigators said they continue to search for the motive. Meanwhile friends and family who spoke to various news outlets describe their shock at Livelsberger’s name in the news.

He “loved the Army and loved America,” his father, Roger Livelsberger told CBS News. His father said he was on holiday leave from his station in Germany.

Livelsberger had an 8-month-old child with his second wife. She continued to live in Colorado Springs and he traveled back and forth from Germany.

Multiple media outlets, including the Associated Press and New York Post, reported he may have gotten into a fight with his wife about their relationship before renting the car and buying guns. A law enforcement official said investigators learned of the fight through interviews, according to the Associated Press.

Others described Livelsberger, a decorated member of the Army Special Operations Command, as a kind, dedicated person and soldier.

“In 2010, he helped resettle a former Afghan interpreter he had served with in Afghanistan,” according to the CBS News report. “CBS News spoke with the interpreter who said that Livelsberger was very kind to him and his family, and would often come to their house for meals, although not for many years.

A former girlfriend, Alicia Arritt, told the Denver Gazette her ex texted her about renting the Tesla Cybertruck on Sunday. The two chatted through messages, though she said the conversation was out of the blue.

FBI agents visited her on Wednesday, she said, and told her during their conversation that she was not the only old girlfriend Livelsberger contacted in those last few days, according to the report.

“I just want everyone to know that Matt was the kindest man I ever knew,” Arritt said. “He got me through a difficult time.”

Arritt told the newspaper she knew him as a political conservative, but she wondered why he would pack an Elon Musk-associated truck with explosives and park it in front of the president-elect’s hotel in Las Vegas.

“I rented a Tesla Cybertruck. It’s the s***,” he wrote her at 9 a.m. Sunday, according to the Gazette. “I feel like Batman or halo.”

Neighbors also told the Denver newspaper that their townhome complex community was “shocked to learn the bombing suspect was him,” noting that he seemed “like a normal guy. His wife is awesome, too.”

If you’re thinking about suicide, or are worried about a friend or loved one, help is available 24/7 by calling or texting the Lifeline network at 988. Live chat is available at 988lifeline.org. Additionally, the Crisis Text Line is a free, national service available 24/7. Text HOME to 741741.

Contact McKenna Ross at mross@reviewjournal.com. Follow @mckenna_ross_ on X.