In the wake of the New Orleans terrorist attack, a Tesla Cybertruck reportedly full of "firework-style mortars" exploded in front of the Trump Towers in Las Vegas this morning.

Maybe it was some kind of accident, and the whole location was just a coincidence. But it's not hard to think that the idea was to send a message to both Donald Trump, who owns the tower, and to his political ally, Elon Musk, who owns Tesla.

Was it an act of terrorism? An assassination threat? Based on the scant information out so far, it seems plausible.

The cops aren't saying but they have told the press they are investigating it as a potential crime.

This tweet shows the different dynamics between a run-of-the-mill electric car battery fire and the explosion seen in front of the tower:

It seems reasonable to think that if this were intentional, the perpetrator probably had a 'thing' against both Trump and Musk, who is currently working on domestic policy in regards to cutting the size of our oversized government.

That suggests that the perpetrator was more likely a political actor than an overseas terrorist, the latter of which seems to be evident in New Orleans as the FBI fumbles around and says it's not terrorism.

Union thugs, of which Las Vegas has many, are known for their violent tactics, but they don't seem too on-the-outs with the incoming Trump team. We haven't heard crazy statements from them.

Antifa, given its loathing of Trump and Musk, as well as its willingness to use lawless tactics might have such a motive. The group seems to be the sort of place law enforcement ought to at least look, given the weak penetration of that organization by federal authorities focused on Jan. 6 grannies, angry parents speaking out at school board meetings and Latin Mass goers, rather than domestic terrorists. There could easily be some material there.

What's more, whoever did it was stupid:

... which once again might lead in the direction of antifa, which frequently does foolish things.

Or it could be someone else -- a foreign actor looking for 'revenge' perhaps -- but if it were, it's hard to think they would have used a Cybertruck since it's unlikely they want to get Musk. The attack seems dual in its messaging.

Whoever did wanted may have wanted the world to think Musk's cars blow up so it's a bad idea to buy them. The whole concept is juvenile, too, which is typical of terrorists: Ooh, look, the Musk car took down the Trump tower and it all fell down!

It also could have been a lone wolf activist, or someone with a shadowy network like the two would-be assassins of Trump this past year and that Luigi Mangione character who shot the insurance CEO in the back. We've seen a lot of lone wolves who may not be all that 'lone' this past year. Maybe the pattern holds.

Some factors that support the accident theory are that it was New Year's Day, so it's plausible that some fireworks transport might be legitimately happening.

We also don't know who the driver was who was killed -- why would he let himself get killed (and identified) if he could just as easily have walked away from the car and let it blow up after him -- was he a dupe for someone else, or was this really an accident? Why did he pick such an expensive and well-armored car if he could have done better with a regular, less-armored Tesla and sent the same dual message?

Strangest of all was why the timing. Whoever it was who did this bombing saw his spectacular overshadowed by the far more heinous mass-death event in New Orleans. Terrorists live for publicity, and this one seemingly misfired, given that a bigger story was happening elsewhere. Maybe it was just stupidity and the terrorists are kicking themselves. Or maybe it was an accident.

There are so many unanswered questions, but its reassuring to see that the Las Vegas cops and not the feds, are investigating this. Maybe they will get to the bottom here.

The sooner they do, and release the results of their probe with full transparency, the better. Even if it was a true accident, the bad guys are going to get ideas and the good guys need to be ready.

Image: Twitter screen shot