Peer-to-peer car rental app Turo is facing intense scrutiny after it was revealed the vehicles involved in the New Year's Day attacks were rented through its platform. These deadly incidents occurred on January 1, 2025, with the first taking place in New Orleans, where Shamsud-Din Bahar Jabbar drove a pickup truck through the French Quarter, resulting in 14 fatalities. Hours later, another rental vehicle, a Tesla Cybertruck, exploded outside the Trump International Hotel in Las Vegas, killing its driver, Matthew Livelsberger, who had shot himself before the explosion.
According to Turo CEO Andre Haddad, the company was devastated by these horrific events. "Thinking about the victims and their families, I’m shocked, saddened, and, more than anything else, just simply heartbroken," he stated. The attacks drew national attention and left the car-sharing platform grappling with its role after the events.
Jabbar, 42, was reported as an Army veteran, and the driver of the Tesla, Livelsberger, served as a U.S. Army Green Beret. Turo has confirmed both had valid driver’s licenses and clean criminal backgrounds at the time of renting the vehicles. "We do not believe these two individuals would have been flagged by anyone — including law enforcement," Haddad added.
Following the attacks, Turo stated it was cooperating fully with law enforcement investigations and was sharing any useful information they could to assist. The platform described its operations as similar to how Airbnb works, connecting car owners with those needing rentals. The company prides itself on its safety record, noting, "Less than 0.10% of Turo trips have ended with serious incidents, such as vehicle theft." Despite this, the heinous crimes committed by those who rented their vehicles raised questions about the adequacy of Turo’s screening processes.
Turo, which began operations over 12 years ago, allows hosts to rent out their cars through its app. The platform reportedly processes over 50 data points to create risk scores for users, which informs their trust and safety algorithms. Haddad emphasized, "That has been the anchor of our very strong safety track record over the last four years. We are devastated by these horrible incidents and remain dedicated to helping the authorities."
With the incidents resulting in public concern about the potential risks associated with peer-to-peer car-sharing, Turo’s leadership has announced plans to conduct internal reviews of their safety protocols. The app has stated they have assembled teams of experienced former law enforcement professionals within their Trust and Safety organization to refine their security measures.
Haddad remarked, "We’re consulting with national security and counterterrorism experts to learn more about how we can get even more effective and play our part to help prevent anything like this from happening ever again." The company is under immense pressure as it seeks to balance safety with business growth, especially after these tragedies.
Turo’s public image has undoubtedly been affected by these events, raising questions about how the platform manages the risks associated with its model. The company had facilitated over 27 million trips and 8.6 billion miles driven to date, but incidents like these could alter user trust. Looking to the future, Haddad expressed commitment to enhancing their protocols to navigate safer pathways for their customers: "2025 is off to an awful start. While I mourn today, I also remain committed to creating and maintaining a strong, secure, trustworthy marketplace for tomorrow."
With law enforcement's investigations continuing, Turo's response could play a significant role in shaping how the platform evolves to handle safety and trust issues, with the hope of ensuring such devastating events do not happen again.