Tesla CEO Elon Musk said he is considering suing media outlets over the way they covered the Cybertruck explosion that happened in front of the Trump Las Vegas hotel on Wednesday.
In a post on Musk's social platform X, conservative activist Robby Starbuck urged the tech billionaire to consider taking legal action against outlets that framed the story as a vehicle malfunction. He included a screenshot of a Business Insider headline that detailed the incident.
"These headlines are sabotaging @Tesla's brand by making people think it caught on fire," Starbuck wrote. "There's about 1 Tesla fire for every 130 million miles traveled. Other cars have 1 every 18 million miles."
"Maybe it is time to do so," Musk responded.
The Cybertruck involved in the Wednesday morning explosion was reportedly packed with "fireworks-style mortars" and is being investigated as a possible act of terror.
The vehicle's operator, identified as an Army special operations soldier, was killed in the blast and seven bystanders were wounded.
In a reply to Starbuck's post, X user VernS pointed to the use of the vehicle make and model in the majority of media headlines, saying it could be interpreted as a "targeted attack" on Tesla.
"I don't think I've ever seen a car bombing where all of the headlines across all of the Internet state the vehicle make and model before anything else it’s usually buried far down in the print," VernS wrote. "It's never the headline."
"That should be enough for any court to rule on a targeted attack of the company."
Musk, who donated millions to President-elect Donald Trump's campaign and is set to hold a key role in his new administration, took to X to comment on the incident.
"The whole Tesla senior team is investigating this matter right now," Musk wrote. "We've never seen anything like this. Will post more information as soon as we learn anything."
In a separate post, he defended the Cybertruck's safety record and shared video of a Las Vegas news conference that backed up his claims.
"The fact that this was a Cybertruck really limited the damage that occurred inside the valet because it had most of the blast go up through the truck and out," Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department Sheriff Kevin McMahill told reporters during a press conference.
Along with his repost of a video of the news conference, Musk wrote: "The evil knuckleheads picked the wrong vehicle for a terrorist attack. Cybertruck actually contained the explosion and directed the blast upwards. Not even the glass doors of the lobby were broken."
Trump Organization Executive Vice President Eric Trump quickly issued a statement after the explosion at the company's property, thanking first responders and confirming the safety of the location.
"The safety and well-being of our guests and staff remain our top priority," he wrote.
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