Unlike traditional car rental companies like Hertz, Alamo, or National, the Turo app offers peer-to-peer functionality in its vehicle rentals. So, instead of reserving a car through a particular company, you reserve a car from an individual.
The app has gained in prominence since its inception in 2010, and its CEO Andre Hadad explains on his LinkedIn profile why he finds the company concept attractive.
Turo immediately clicked for me — not only was it a marketplace, but it was a marketplace for cars. As a lifelong car enthusiast, I was thrilled to combine two of my greatest passions. Soon after signing on as CEO, I listed my 2006 Porsche 911 Carrera S on the site — it was car #279 on the marketplace and is still available today, the longest-standing currently active car on Turo.
This notion of unlocking the value of something that had been locked away in a home, a closet, a garage, electrified me all those years ago, and continues to electrify me today. Marketplaces attract innovators and entrepreneurial spirits, those driven, creative minds who look at the world and see possibility rather than monolithic, unbreakable boxes. And they attract consumers who value the one-of-a-kind over the mass-produced, the unique over the generic, experience over pure utility.
It seems two terrorists took advantage of the ease of this app to engineer the attacks in Las Vegas and New Orleans.
A peer-to-peer ridesharing app is at the center of two deadly incidents on opposite ends of the country.
Officials confirmed that the car rental app Turo was used by the driver involved in the New Orleans terror attack and by the driver of a Cybertruck that exploded outside of Trump Hotel in Las Vegas.
Here’s what the app is and what it’s used for.
What is Turo?
Turo is a San Francisco-based peer-to-peer carsharing app. Essentially, a “host” can rent out their privately owned vehicles to app users. The company started in 2010 under the name “RelayRides” but changed to Turo in 2015.
Turo differs from standard rental car services in that they neither own or maintain the cars being rented out. Turo exists just as a platform for car owners to rent out their vehicles.
The company also has unique and specific terms of service. According to the Turo website, it offers easy 24/7 airport pickup.
Airport pickup made easy
Easy pickup offered by hosts at hundreds of airports across the US, UK, Canada, France, and Australia.
No lines, no paperwork, no hassle
Find and pick up the car with the app
Rest easy with 24/7 support
When I clicked on “Search for cars at airports,” It opened a page with a selection of 200-plus automobiles to choose from across the United States. It’s just that easy. You are coordinating through an app, so there is no need for contact with a human. Both the New Orleans attacker Shamsud-Din Jabbar, and the yet-to-be-identified Las Vegas terrorist used Turo to rent the vehicles used in their attacks.
In New Orleans, the attacker, identified as Shamsud-Din Jabbar, rented a Ford F-150 Lightning truck through the Turo app and intentionally drove through a crowded Bourbon Street, killing 15 people and injuring several others.
According to the Associated Press, a Turo executive said they are cooperating with the FBI in the New Orleans investigation.
In Las Vegas, an unidentified driver pulled into the valet area of the Trump Hotel in a Tesla Cybertruck, also rented through Turo, Las Vegas law enforcement sources told ABC News. The Cybertruck, which was loaded with fireworks and gasoline cans, then exploded, killing the driver and injuring seven others, Las Vegas Sheriff Kevin McMahill confirmed.
Sheriff McMahill said investigators have not found any connections to the New Orleans attack from the Las Vegas incident.
From the outside looking in, I would say the connection is the Turo app, and once the authorities dig deeper into how the cars were acquired, they may end up finding more links.
One way the app works that a rental car company does not is that Turo allows the primary driver on the rental to add additional drivers.
Yes, multiple guests can drive the car you rent on Turo, as long as they are all approved to drive. The primary driver (whoever rented the car) can add additional drivers with no fees or additional charges. Only the primary driver can request to add drivers; Turo hosts cannot do it for you. We encourage you to request to add additional drivers before your trip starts, though guests in the US and Canada can request to add a driver while a trip is in progress.
To speed up the process, have your additional driver create a Turo account and get approved to drive before you request to add them. All drivers must have a valid driver’s license and meet the age requirements for the car you’ve rented. You can request to add drivers via the “Trips” tab in the Turo app without additional driver charges or extra costs.
Turo also does not offer one-way rentals. While return locations can be adjusted with the car host (car owner), the car must be returned in or around the same radius where the vehicle was picked up. I spoke with the virtual assistant on the Turo website to confirm this.
Turo doesn’t allow one-way rentals when booking. But after booking, you can request to change the return location. The new location must be within your host’s pickup radius or an approved area. Hosts have eight hours to approve or decline, and fees may apply.
Jabbar and the Vegas Tesla Cybertruck driver could have been the primary drivers on the app for their particular cars, or they could have been added on as additional drivers. Both cars were also high-end electric vehicles. If I owned such a vehicle and it was used in a terrorist attack, I would either be trying to get as much distance between myself and the actors or I would be trying to recoup my losses.
That appears to be the case with the Ford F-150 host who rented to Jabbar.
Since ABC has released this info, I will now. The truck owner is Rodrigo Diaz. He IS NOT THE TERRORIST. He rents this truck out through Turo and is actively working and helping law enforcement with information. pic.twitter.com/341xgFdUgk
— Paratrooper Brady™️ 🇺🇲 (@82ndairborneBT) January 1, 2025
That leaves the primary driver of the Tesla Cybertruck who is yet to be identified or named. If the Turo host has not come forward, then that leaves the possibility that they may not have been expecting to receive their car back.
Both crime scenes are under active investigation, and the rabbit trail through the Turo app could render more tangible leads.
