• Experts told BI the explosives detonated in an apparent attack outside a Trump hotel didn't appear sophisticated.
• One explosives expert said the incident, where the driver was an active-duty Army service member, appeared "poorly executed."
• Authorities said the explosives were "not what we would expect from an individual with this type of military experience."

Explosive experts told Business Insider the damage from the materials detonated inside a Tesla Cybertruck in front of the Trump International Hotel in Las Vegas would likely have been worse if the items used had been more sophisticated.

The explosive-laden Cybertruck, which authorities say carried gasoline tanks, camping fuel, and large firework mortars, injured at least seven people. The driver, an active-duty Army service member named Matthew Alan Livelsberger, shot himself moments before the explosives detonated on Wednesday, authorities said.

Tesla CEO Elon Musk took to social media in the wake of the incident to praise the Cybertruck's design and suggest it helped limit the damage of the explosion.

Nick Glumac, a mechanical science and engineering professor at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, told BI that the volume of the explosion was likely due to the types of explosives used. Glumac said this was a "poorly executed" incident if the intent was to cause major damage.

"It would be very difficult to get the types of fuels here to make into a large scale destruction kind of event," Glumac said.

Glumac said similar improvised explosive device blasts look very different from what occurred on January 1. He also pointed to the Oklahoma City Bombing in 1995, when Army veteran Timothy McVeigh detonated an explosive-laden rental truck that killed 168 people and reduced a third of the federal building to rubble.

"That was very carefully planned. They knew what they were doing," Glumac said about the Oklahoma City Bombing, adding that the Cybertruck explosion on January 1, by contrast, appeared "very improvised."

'The level of sophistication is not what we would expect from an individual with this type of military experience'

Car and truck bombs were a key feature of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, to which the suspect deployed at least three times. In many of those instances, vehicles were packed with enough explosives to blast fortified positions or take down buildings. The war in Ukraine has similarly suggested that heavily armored vehicles and tanks can be used as rolling car bombs.

Officials spoke about the explosive materials used in the incident during a Thursday press conference.

"The level of sophistication is not what we would expect from an individual with this type of military experience," Kenny Cooper, an assistant special agent in charge for the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, said at a Las Vegas Metropolitan Police press conference, adding that most of the materials in the vehicle were to "help fuel a greater explosion."

Ali Rangwala, a fire protection engineering professor at Worcester Polytechnic Institute, said that the driver may have miscalculated the explosion, and it might not have been released instantaneously.

"Some of the explosives might not have triggered on time systematically," Rangwala said.

"The only way to create an instantaneous energy release, as in the case of a bomb, is for all of the energetic material to ignite in micro- or milli-seconds," Jim Wesevich, a global service line leader of forensics at safety and security firm Jensen Hughes, told BI in written commentary.

A military official told BI that Livelsberger "wasn't a bomb maker." But his military occupational specialty (MOS) within the 10th Special Forces Group was 18Z, making him a special forces operations sergeant, which the Army says, "trains and maintains proficiency in all major duties associated with Special Forces."

Cooper said it was too early to know if there was "sophisticated connectivity" to the components or to "give any determination" as to how the explosion was initiated. Officials said they discovered consumer fireworks, mortars, aerial shells, fuel enhancers, and explosive targets that Cooper said could be purchased at "any sporting goods store."

Experts say a vehicle's design may shape the trajectory of a blast

Elon Musk, in a social media post Wednesday, called the Cybertruck the "worst possible choice for a car bomb, as its stainless steel armor will contain the blast better than any other commercial vehicle."

Kevin McMahill, sheriff of the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department, said the Cybertruck's design helped limit the explosion.

"The fact that this was a Cybertruck really limited the damage that occurred inside of the valet because it had most of the blast go up and through the truck and out," McMahill said in a briefing.

Rangwala said the damage may have been partly limited because a Cybertruck's roof, which includes a large glass pane, would clear pressure from inside the vehicle early in the explosion. The pressure from an explosion would be felt on all sides equally if it wasn't relieved by going upward through the roof, he said.

Glumac and Brian Meacham, an engineer and director of risk and regulatory consulting at Crux Consulting LLC who spoke to BI over email, said that they would have expected similar scenarios if the incident took place in a traditional pickup truck.

Michael Villahermosa, a US Army commander with a background in explosive ordnance disposal, said on X that photos of the items used in the blast suggest the explosives were "poorly constructed and poorly thought out."

As he said on X, "People are using the Las Vegas bombing to show the quality of the Cybertruck," when, in his view, "it shows the quality of the explosive device that was used."

Staff writer Ryan Pickrell contributed to this report.

Two individuals rented cars from Turo, a peer-to-peer car-sharing platform, and used them to perform acts of violence earlier this week. First, a military veteran driving a Ford F-150 Lightning drove into a crowd of people, killing at least 15. Then, an active-duty Green Beret rented a Tesla Cybertruck, parked it in front of the […]

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Officials believe the driver of the Cybertruck that exploded in Las Vegas was Matthew Alan Livelberger, a US Army soldier who shot himself in the head moments before the blast.

• The driver suspected of exploding a Tesla Cybertruck left a note saying that his act "was a wake up call."
• Authorities identified the driver as Matthew Livelsberger, 37, of Colorado Springs.
• Livelsberger had been an active-duty Army service member for nearly two decades, the US Army told BI.

The driver of the Tesla Cybertruck loaded with explosives behind Wednesday's Las Vegas blast was an active-duty US Army soldier who, a coroner said, committed suicide.

In a press release on Thursday, the Clark County coroner identified the driver as Matthew Livelsberger, a 37-year-old man from Colorado Springs, Colorado.

The coroner's report said the cause of death was the result of an intraoral gunshot wound by suicide.

Livelsberger was a master sergeant who served as a special-operations soldier, a US Army spokesperson said in a statement provided to Business Insider.

Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department (LVMPD) Sheriff Kevin McMahill told reporters on Thursday that the driver appeared to have died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound before the material in his truck exploded.

McMahill said authorities found a military ID and credit cards with Livelsberger's name on them inside the Cybertruck. They have also confirmed that he rented the Tesla vehicle in Denver on December 28, driving through parts of New Mexico and Arizona before reaching Las Vegas.

Spencer Evans, Special Agent in charge of the Las Vegas FBI Field Office, said the bureau has no information about any other suspects. There is no current evidence connecting Livelsberger to any terrorist organization around the world.

There is also no evidence that the Las Vegas explosion is connected with a deadly attack in New Orleans, McMahill said.

Authorities on Thursday said both Livelsberger and Shamsud-Din Jabbar, who is suspected of driving a rented truck into a crowd of people in Louisana, both served in the military and spent time together at what was then known as Fort Bragg in North Carolina. Bragg, now known as Fort Liberty, is one of the nation's largest military bases. There is no evidence that Livelsberger and Jabbar were in the same unit.

The LVMPD said in a press release on Friday that two phones were also discovered inside the Cybertruck. After detectives gained access to one of the phones, they are said to have found two "letters" that "include grievances regarding political, social, cultural, personal, and other issues."

In one of the letters, authorities said Livelsberger wrote: "This was not a terrorist attack, it was a wake up call."

He added that the US was "terminally ill and headed toward collapse" and that he had acted in order to "cleanse" his mind of the "brothers I've lost" and to relieve himself of "the burden of the lives I took."

"There may be a lot more information that we recover that explains either more or shows a change in mindset at different times," LVMPD Assistant Sheriff Dori Koren said at a press conference on Friday.

A military background

Livelsberger served in active duty from January 2006 to March 2011, the Army spokesperson said. After a stint in the National Guard and service in the Army Reserve, Livelsberger returned to active duty in December 2012.

"US Army Special Operations Command can confirm Livelsberger was assigned to the command and on approved leave at the time of his death," the Army spokesperson said. "USASOC is in full cooperation with federal and state law enforcement agencies, but as a matter of policy, will not comment on ongoing investigations."

Livelsberger served in the Army for more than 19 years. A military official told BI he was an operations sergeant assigned to the 10th Special Forces Group in Germany but was recently on leave at home in Colorado.

The official added that Livelsberger had a clean record, "by all accounts was great," and that this would have been "out of character" for him.

The FBI said it was searching a home in Colorado Springs in connected with the incident.

"FBI Denver personnel and specialized teams will be on-site for several hours," the bureau said in a statement to BI. "This activity is related to the explosion in Las Vegas on Wednesday; due to the ongoing nature of the investigation, no further information will be provided out of Denver."

The Cybertruck had been filled with firework-style mortars and canisters of camping fuel, authorities said Wednesday. The driver was the only person killed. Seven other people were injured.

The vehicle explosion occurred hours after an attacker drove a rented pickup truck through crowds on Bourbon Street in New Orleans. That attack left 15 people dead, including the attacker, and injured dozens more.

Both vehicles were rented using the Turo app. Authorities in Louisana on Thursday also said the New Orleans attack appeared to be unrelated to the Cybertruck explosion.

On X, Tesla CEO Elon Musk praised the Cybertruck for limiting the destruction from the blast. McMahill said Musk has dispatched a team of Tesla officials to assist with the Las Vegas investigation.

Update: The first paragraph of this article has been updated to reflect that the driver of the vehicle containing explosives involved in the Las Vegas blast committed suicide, a coroner said.

Additional reporting by Ryan Pickrell and Kevin Tan.

Tesla delivered fewer cars last year than it did in 2023, marking its first year-to-year drop and signaling that the company is struggling to reach new buyers. That means Tesla’s Cybertruck, which is the company’s first true new model since 2020, did little to boost the company’s growth in its first full year of sales. […]

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• A Tesla Cybertruck exploded outside the Trump International Hotel at Las Vegas on Wednesday.
• Las Vegas police thanked Elon Musk for his assistance in investigating the blast.
• Musk gave the police further information on the blast and footage from Tesla's charging stations.

Las Vegas police expressed their appreciation for Tesla CEO Elon Musk's assistance after a Cybertruck exploded outside the Trump International Hotel on New Year's Day.

"I have to thank Elon Musk specifically," Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department Sheriff Kevin McMahill said at a press conference on Wednesday.

"He gave us quite a bit of additional information in regards to how the vehicle was locked after it exploded due to the nature of the force from the explosion as well as being able to capture all of the video from Tesla charging stations across the country, he sent that directly to us so I appreciate his help on that," the sheriff added.

The explosion, which took place at 8:40 a.m. Las Vegas time, left one dead and seven injured. The driver, who was killed in the explosion, has not been named.

McMahill told reporters that the Cybertruck's cargo bed contained gasoline canisters, fuel canisters, and "larger mortar fireworks." The FBI is trying to determine whether the blast was an act of terrorism.

"The evil knuckleheads picked the wrong vehicle for a terrorist attack. Cybertruck actually contained the explosion and directed the blast upwards," Musk wrote in an X post on the same day, echoing McMahill's remarks at the press conference.

"The fact that this was a Cybertruck really limited the damage that occurred inside of the valet because it had most of the blast go up through the truck and out," McMahill said at the press conference.

"In fact, if you look on that video you'll see that the front glass doors of the Trump hotel were not even broken by that blast which they were parked directly in front of," he added.

A video of the blown-up Cybertruck was also shown during the briefing. The vehicle's cargo bed was torched by the explosion, but its hull appeared to be otherwise intact, per the footage.

Tesla did not respond to Business Insider's request for comment.

The blast happened just hours after a driver plowed into a crowd of people in New Orleans with a rented Ford pickup truck.

At least 15 people were killed during the New Orleans attack. President Joe Biden said on Wednesday that authorities are investigating if the two incidents are linked.

"The whole Tesla senior team is investigating this matter right now," Musk wrote on X following the explosion in Las Vegas.

Musk wrote in a subsequent X post that "the explosion was caused by very large fireworks and/or a bomb carried in the bed of the rented Cybertruck and is unrelated to the vehicle itself."

"All vehicle telemetry was positive at the time of the explosion," he added.

The Cybertruck was first announced by Tesla in November 2019, but design changes saw the its release get delayed from 2021 to 2023.

When Musk first unveiled the Cybertruck in 2019, he said that the vehicle will be made from the same stainless-steel alloy used in SpaceX's Starship rocket.

The Cybertruck's skin "is literally bulletproof to a 9-mm handgun," Musk said.

"So, you know, when you say something's built tough, that's what we mean," he added.

• The Cybertruck that exploded in Las Vegas was rented on Turo, the car-sharing company said.
• The app was also used to rent the truck used in the New Orleans attack.
• President Joe Biden said authorities were looking into whether the two incidents were connected.

The Tesla Cybertruck that exploded on Wednesday in Las Vegas was rented on Turo, the same car-sharing app used to rent the pickup truck used in the New Orleans attack early Wednesday.

In a statement on its website on Wednesday, Turo confirmed the vehicles involved in both incidents were rented through its service.

"Our trust and safety team is actively partnering with law enforcement authorities to share any information that could be helpful in their investigations," the statement read. "We do not believe that either renter had a criminal background that would have identified them as a security threat, and we are not currently aware of any information that indicates the two incidents are related."

Shamsud-Din Jabbar has been identified as the suspect in the deadly New Orleans attack. Jabbar's criminal record, obtained from the Texas Department of Public Safety and viewed by Business Insider, shows two prior arrests in 2002 and 2005.

The first was for theft, while the other was for driving with an invalid license. Both were classified as misdemeanors.

Celebrity-backed company

Turo lets private car owners rent out their vehicles. It's similar to Airbnb or Vrbo but for vehicles instead of homes.

The San Francisco-based company offers a wide range of cars, including Toyotas, Porsches, and Teslas, and is active in the US, the UK, Australia, Canada, and France.

Investors include the venture arms of American Express, BMW, and Liberty Mutual and top venture-capital firms such as Kleiner Perkins and Google Ventures. Celebrities such as the rapper 2 Chainz and NBA and NFL players have also invested.

Turo has close to 1,000 employees and was valued at $1.5 billion in 2020, per PitchBook. The company, which was founded in 2009, registered for an initial public offering in 2021 but hasn't yet gone public.

The company had 360,000 cars listed on its platform at the end of 2023, and about 3.7 million people booked cars that year, according to a March 2024 filing. In that filing, Turo said customers' actions that result in criminal activity could affect the company's reputation and create legal liabilities — a standard line in these documents.

The company wrote that it had no control over — or the ability to predict — the actions of car renters, who it calls guests.

"We cannot conclusively verify the identity of all guests, nor do we verify or screen third parties who may be present during a trip using a vehicle booked through our platform," the March filing said. "Our trust and safety processes focus primarily on guests to reduce the risk of vehicle theft and motor vehicle accidents."

The company reported nearly $880 million in revenue in 2023, an 18% year-over-year growth. It posted $14.7 million in profits, a sharp fall from $154.7 million in 2022. Losses and high costs are common for growing tech companies, especially those that aren't yet public.

Authorities are investigating possible connections between attacks

In a press conference Wednesday, President Joe Biden said authorities were investigating whether there was any connection between the Las Vegas explosion and the New Orleans attack.

Kevin McMahill, the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department sheriff, said at a press conference that the driver of the Tesla Cybertruck was killed and that seven others were injured after the vehicle exploded outside the Trump International Hotel in Las Vegas.

"We're very well aware of what has happened in New Orleans with the event that occurred there, and the number of victims there and the additional IEDs," McMahill said, referring to the attack in New Orleans that killed 15 on Wednesday morning. "So, as you can imagine, with an explosion here on iconic Las Vegas Boulevard, we are taking all of the precautions that we need to take to keep our community safe."

Tesla CEO Elon Musk wrote on X that the explosion was "caused by very large fireworks and/or a bomb" in the bed of the Cybertruck.

This story is developing. Please check back for updates.

• One person is dead and seven injured after a Tesla Cybertruck caught fire and exploded, authorities said.
• The explosion occurred Wednesday outside a Trump hotel in Las Vegas.
• The FBI is trying to determine whether it was an act of terrorism.

One person is dead and seven are injured after a Tesla Cybertruck exploded outside Trump International Hotel in Las Vegas, authorities said Wednesday.

The Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department sheriff, Kevin McMahill, said at a press conference that a person inside the vehicle was killed and that the other injuries had been reported to him as "minor." He said the incident didn't appear to pose any further threat to the community.

"We do know who rented the truck," McMahill said. "We are looking at that individual, but I am not prepared to release the name of any of the individuals that we are looking at, at least until next of kin is notified and we have a 100% identification."

Jeremy Schwartz, the acting special agent in charge for the FBI's Las Vegas office, said his agency was trying to "determine whether this was an act of terrorism or not."

President Joe Biden said Wednesday that authorities were investigating whether there was any connection between the Las Vegas explosion and the New Orleans attack that killed 15 on Wednesday morning.

McMahill said both the Cybertruck and the New Orleans attack vehicle were rented using the car-sharing app Turo.

In a statement shared on its website on Wednesday, Turo confirmed that both vehicles were rented through its service.

"Our trust and safety team is actively partnering with law enforcement authorities to share any information that could be helpful in their investigations," the statement read.

The police say they found gasoline canisters and fireworks in the car

At a press conference, McMahill described the scene of the incident.

"At 8:40 a.m. Las Vegas time, we received a report of an explosion and a fire at the Trump Towers," McMahill said. "We were told that a 2024 Cybertruck pulled up to the front of the hotel, and in fact, I can tell you that it pulled right up to the glass entrance doors of the hotel. We saw that smoke starts showing from the vehicle, and then a large explosion from the truck occurs."

McMahill said the Cybertruck's cargo bed contained gasoline canisters, fuel canisters, and "large mortar fireworks."

"The fact that this was a Cybertruck really limited the damage that occurred inside of the valet because it had most of the blast go up through the truck and out," McMahill said.

McMahill also thanked Tesla CEO Elon Musk for his help in the investigation, including gathering video footage from Tesla charging stations.

McMahill said the Trump hotel would remain closed for the time being. He said the "vast majority" of the people staying at the Trump hotel had moved to the Resorts World Las Vegas hotel.

This story is developing. Please check back for updates.

A Tesla Cybertruck that exploded and burst into flames Wednesday morning just outside the Trump International Hotel Las Vegas has left one person dead and seven people injured, according to the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department (LVMPD). Matthew Alan Livelsberger, a 37-year-old man who was an active duty U.S. Army Green Beret from Colorado Springs, […]

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• Rivian and Tesla are among the least reliable car brands, according to Consumer Reports' survey of 300,000 owners.
• Their drivers don't seem to mind, with both EV companies ranking highly for customer satisfaction.
• Tesla has faced scrutiny over vehicle reliability, with the Cybertruck being recalled six times this year.

Rivian and Tesla may not have the most reliable vehicles on the market — but their drivers don't care.

The two electric vehicle brands have some of the highest customer satisfaction despite being among the least reliable vehicle brands, according to Consumer Report's 2025 Automotive Report Card.

EV startup Rivian was ranked as the worst vehicle brand for reliability, while Tesla was voted the 6th least reliable of the 22 major brands surveyed.

Japanese brands Subaru, Lexus, and Toyota led the rankings, which are based on surveys of around 300,000 vehicle owners.

Percieved unreliability hasn't affected Tesla and Rivian owner's enjoyment of their vehicles, however.

86% of the Rivian owners surveyed by Consumer Reports said they would buy their Rivian EV again, giving it the highest owner satisfaction rating of any brand surveyed.

Tesla was not far behind, with 72% of owners saying they would buy their vehicle again.

The Elon Musk-run company has faced scrutiny over vehicle reliability in recent years.

Tesla's most recently launched vehicle, the Cybertruck, has been recalled six times in 2024.

The angular electric pickup, which Musk previously said would be "apocalypse-proof," has faced issues with its drive inverter, rearview camera, and famously large wiper.

In April, Tesla recalled almost 4,000 Cybertrucks over fears the accelerator pedal could become jammed at full throttle.

Consumer Reports found that conventional hybrids remain more reliable than EVs and plug-in hybrids, which had 42% and 70% more problems on average than combustion engine vehicles and hybrids, respectively, according to owners surveyed.

Rivian and Tesla did not respond to requests for comment from Business Insider, sent outside normal working hours.

• The NHTSA is gathering info on a Cybertruck crash that killed three college students in California.
• The crash is the second fatal Cybertruck incident in the US, following one in Texas.
• Tesla's Cybertruck has faced multiple recalls and 21 NHTSA complaints since launching.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is probing a Cybertruck crash that killed three college students last month in California.

"NHTSA is aware of the crash and is gathering information from the manufacturer and law enforcement," a spokesperson for the agency told Business Insider, adding that an investigation hasn't been opened yet.

The Piedmont Police Department and the California Highway Patrol are looking into the Tesla crash, Piedmont Police Chief Jeremy Bowers said at a media briefing. CFP did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Business Insider.

The Piedmont Police Department was alerted about the crash at 3:08 a.m. on November 27, according to Bowers. The police arrived at the scene and found the Cybertruck vehicle in flames. Three of the four people in the car were killed, and the fourth sustained serious injuries and was taken to a hospital.

Bowers said at the media briefing that the police officers attempted to extinguish the fire at the crash site, but it was "too intense." The Piedmont Fire Department eventually extinguished the fire, he said.

The cause of the crash still remains unknown, although Bowers said at the briefing that speed was likely a "contributing factor." He also said there was no indication that mechanical issues were the primary cause of the collision, although he said the investigation was still in the early stages.

The Piedmont crash stands as the second fatal Cybertruck crash in the US. The previous fatal crash, which occurred in August, also involved a Cybertruck and a fire after a driver drove off a road in Texas.

Like traditional vehicles with internal combustion engines, electric vehicles can catch fire in crashes. However, EVs have posed challenges with putting out fires in a timely manner because of their large lithium-ion batteries. When an EV battery enters a cycle of overheating and over-pressurizing, it can result in fires or explosions.

Tesla CEO Elon Musk has criticized media coverage of Tesla models that have caught fire and maintained that the automaker's vehicles are some of the safest on the road.

"Considering the odds in the absolute, you are more likely to be struck by lightning in your lifetime than experience even a non-injurious fire in a Tesla," Musk wrote in a 2013 blog post addressing recent Tesla fires.

The "'apocalypse-proof' Cybertruck, as Musk has described it, has faced multiple recalls since the first deliveries about a year ago, many of which were addressed through software updates. The most recent was due to a faulty vehicle part that could cause the vehicle's wheels to lose power.

Prior to that, 27,000 Cybertrucks were recalled because of a rearview camera issue that could increase the risk of accidents when driving in reverse. In addition to the recalls, NHTSA has also received 21 complaints about issues ranging from broken windshield wipers to issues with the electrical system.

The NHTSA has investigated other Tesla vehicles, often regarding the company's Autopilot or Full-Self-Driving technology. In October, the agency opened an investigation covering 2.4 million Tesla vehicles. The investigation followed reports of four crashes involving FSD in areas where road visibility had been reduced.

• Tesla told Cybertruck workers they didn't need to report to work for three days this week.
• Two factory workers told BI they were told a battery supply issue caused the schedule change.
• Tesla shortened production hours for the Cybertruck line earlier this year.

Tesla is facing a battery supply issue on its Cybertruck line, according to two Cybertruck factory workers.

The two workers told BI they were notified by production supervisors that a recent three-day reduction in Cybertruck manufacturing shifts was the result of an imbalance in the production line — specifically, a lack of working batteries for the truck.

The battery issue caused the line to get "backed up" over the past week, one of the workers said.

Tesla didn't immediately respond to a request for comment.

Employees on the Cybertruck production line were told on Monday they wouldn't "need to report to work" from December 3 to December 5, according to a memo first viewed by Business Insider. In the memo, no reason was given for the schedule change.

Workers were told they'd still receive eight hours of pay for each day they'd been scheduled to work. The regular schedule would resume on December 6, according to the memo.

The schedule for the line has been inconsistent since late October, five Cybertruck workers told BI, and one employee said he began looking for new jobs as a result. The employee said he was no longer working 40 hours per week; earlier this year, by comparison, workers were collecting overtime, he said.

In April, the company shortened shifts for the line, according to an internal memo viewed by BI. Over the past month, the company has further shortened shifts for some of the workflows on the Cybertruck line, three workers said.

Last December, Reuters reported that Tesla was struggling to produce the Cybertruck's 4680 battery at an industrial scale. The battery is also used for the Model Y.

One Cybertruck worker said he felt Tesla was still "working out the kinks," adding that the line has been constantly adapting to increase efficiency and the quality of the truck, including changing factory practices to address recalls.

The carmaker has issued six voluntary recalls since the vehicle was released late last year. Most recently, Tesla issued a recall due to a faulty drive inverter that could cause the truck to lose propulsion.

The Cybertruck is the best-selling electric pickup in the US, according to Kelley Blue Book. When deliveries of the vehicle first started, the carmaker had more than 2 million reservations, according to a tally reported by Electrek. Tesla has delivered more than 27,000 Cybertrucks, per its most recent recall.

There have been some signs that demand for the product may be slowing. The company stopped selling the Foundation series version of the truck in October and lowered Cybertruck leasing prices earlier this week.

Do you work for Tesla or have a tip? Reach out to the reporter via a non-work email and device at [email protected] or 248-894-6012

• Tesla told employees on its Cybertruck production line to take the next three days off.
• Regular scheduling will resume on Friday, the company told staff.
• Tesla shortened production hours for the Cybertruck line earlier this year.

On Monday, Tesla notified workers at the Austin factory where it assembles the Cybertruck to take the next three days off, according to a memo viewed by Business Insider.

"On Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday this week (Dec. 3-5), you do not need to report to work," the memo said.

Workers were told they'd still receive eight hours of pay for each day they'd been scheduled to work.

The email said workers would return to the Cybertruck production line on Friday, December 6. Tesla also said some workers wouldn't follow the adjusted schedule, and those workers would be notified separately.

It's unclear why Tesla has temporarily changed the scheduling for the Cybertruck assembly line.

Tesla didn't respond to a request for comment from BI.

Factory workers on the Cybertruck line said their schedule had been inconsistent since late October. Four workers told BI that several times after arriving at work, they'd either been sent home or given additional training exercises or cleaning duties to fill their scheduled work hours.

At least one worker expressed frustration with the schedule changes.

"When I started at Tesla you could expect to get overtime pay, now I feel lucky to get 40 hours," said the worker on the Cybertruck line, who'd been with the company for several years.

When Tesla began deliveries of the Cybertruck last year, more than 2 million reservations were recorded in a tally, Electrek reported.

There have been signs that demand for the product may have begun to wane. The carmaker shortened the shifts for workers on its Cybertruck production line in April, according to a memo viewed by BI at the time.

Several reservation holders who were late to reserve the Cybertruck have reported receiving delivery of the vehicle — a sign that Tesla may be going through its reservation list faster than expected. After Tesla unveiled the pricing for the vehicle last year, several reservation holders told BI they didn't plan to order the vehicle.

Do you work for Tesla or have a tip? Reach out to the reporter via a non-work email and device at [email protected] or 248-894-6012

Tesla has revealed an app designed for the Apple Watch and says it should be live by next week. The Tesla app for the Apple Watch will do much of what the smartphone app does — it doubles as a key, can open the trunk or the frunk, activate climate control, and show battery charge […]

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