Las Vegas Police Chief Kevin McMahill said on Thursday that investigators now suspect that the Tesla Cybertruck explosion outside the Trump International Hotel on New Year's Day may have been a suicide. McMahill said at a press conference that there is evidence that the driver of the car shot himself minutes before the car exploded. Previous reports said a gun was found at the driver's feet in the charred car.

Authorities are still working to identify the driver as the body was burned beyond recognition. They say preliminary evidence points to Matthew Livelsberger, 37, of Colorado Springs.

Levsberger is a soldier in the U.S. Special Forces. He reportedly first enlisted in 2006 and has been deployed to Afghanistan multiple times.

The FBI searched a Colorado Springs home on Thursday in connection with the incident but provided no further details. "This activity is related to the explosion in Las Vegas," the agency said in a statement.

After the explosion, Tesla CEO Elon Musk said on X that Tesla's senior team was participating in the investigation and shared video clips of charging stations across the country.

Levsberger's colleagues and former commanders expressed shock. A soldier who spoke on condition of anonymity because he worked for the U.S. government said Levsberger was warm and considerate during his lifetime.

Levsberger, who holds the rank of sergeant major, is assigned to the 10th Special Forces Group in Colorado Springs.

Surveillance footage and Tesla data helped authorities track the Cybertruck's journey from Colorado to Las Vegas. The car was rented in Colorado and arrived at the Trump Hotel around 7:30 a.m. local time on Wednesday. It exploded an hour later.

Meanwhile, the FBI has expressed concerns about potential links between the incident and another attack in New Orleans earlier this week.

"There is no clear connection between the attack in New Orleans and the attack in Las Vegas," Christopher Raia, deputy assistant director of the FBI's counterterrorism division, said at a news conference Thursday about the New Orleans attack.