Both the vehicles used in two New Year’s Day attacks in New Orleans and Las Vegas were rented through Turo, a car-sharing app.
The attacks thrust the San Francisco company that created the app, which relies on a model similar to Airbnb to enable users to rent cars directly from their owners, into the spotlight and raised questions about the ability of such peer-to-peer services to adequately vet users for possible safety issues.
In a statement, the company defended itself, saying it’s committed to the “highest standards in risk management.”
“We do not believe that either renter involved in the Las Vegas and New Orleans attacks had a criminal background that would have identified them as a security threat,” Turo said in a statement Wednesday. “We are actively partnering with law enforcement authorities as they investigate both incidents.”
In the first incident early Wednesday morning, 42-year-old Shamsud-Din Jabbar plowed a Ford pickup truck he rented on Turo into a crowd on Bourbon Street in New Orleans, killing at least 14 and injuring many others before being killed by police. Later that day, a man authorities believe to be 37-year-old Matthew Livelsberger parked a Tesla Cybertruck he had rented days earlier in Denver in front of the Trump International Hotel in Las Vegas. Seconds later, fuel canisters and fireworks packed into the truck’s bed exploded, slightly wounding seven bystanders. The driver’s badly burned body was later found with a gunshot wound, leading authorities to conclude Livelsberger shot himself.
Founded in 2009 by former Chief Executive Shelby Clark, privately held Turo operates in more than 16,000 cities and serves 3.5 million active guests. The app offers more than 1,600 makes and models of vehicles and has helped vehicle owners earn $4.8 billion since its inception, a company filing said.
The app works by connecting renters to car owners seeking to share their vehicle for a profit. Users can search for cars by location and communicate directly with owners to arrange a pickup. Owners set their daily rates, and there’s a $15 minimum requirement for each trip.
According to the company’s website, a user must have a valid driver’s license, home address and payment card to rent a vehicle. Turo may also check a potential renter’s credit report and criminal background, the website says.
The company said it was “heartbroken by the violence perpetrated” and employs “world-class” trust and safety protocols, including hiring former law enforcement professionals.
Turo claims to be the world’s largest car-sharing marketplace and offers an alternative to traditional rental companies such as Hertz and Enterprise. Founded as a venture-capital-backed startup, the company first filed paperwork to make an initial public offering in 2022 but has yet to go public.
Turo saw a $14.7-million profit in 2023 and $19 million over the first nine months of 2024, according to a filing. It faces some competition in the car-sharing space, including from the rental app Getaround, which uses a similar platform to connect owners and renters.
This is not the first time Turo vehicles have been associated with criminal activity. In 2021, a Houston woman was charged with committing a series of robberies, which she allegedly carried out using seven cars rented through Turo. Rentals from Turo and Getaround have also been stolen and involved in drug trafficking, according to NBC News.
Police have identified suspects in both New Year’s Day attacks. After investigating a possible connection between the incidents, authorities said they believe the two men involved in the incidents each acted alone. The Cybertruck explosion was not due to a faulty vehicle, Tesla Chief Executive Elon Musk said.
The owner of the pickup used in the New Orleans attack told the New York Times that he recognized his vehicle on the news. He had been renting out five vehicles on Turo as a second income stream but will not use the platform after the attacks, he said.
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