Two separate incidents involving vehicles rented through the peer-to-peer service Turo have raised concerns among authorities. One incident was the deadly New Orleans attack, while the other was an explosion in front of the Trump International Hotel in Las Vegas. Both incidents, which occurred on New Year’s Day, involved trucks rented from Turo—a Ford pickup in New Orleans and a Tesla Cybertruck in Las Vegas. Additionally, both incidents involved U.S.-born military servicemen who had served in Afghanistan around the same timeframe. While authorities are investigating possible parallels between the incidents, an FBI official stated that there is currently no definitive link between the two events.
Turo, similar to Airbnb but for cars, allows car owners to rent out their vehicles when not in use. The company is cooperating with law enforcement as they look into the incidents. Turo reported that neither renter involved in the attacks had a criminal background that would have flagged them as security threats.
As of September 30, Turo had approximately 150,000 active hosts renting out about 350,000 vehicles. In the 12-month period leading up to September, around 3.5 million people rented cars through the platform in 16,000 cities across the U.S., Australia, France, the U.K., and Canada.
To rent a car on Turo, individuals need an email address, Google account or Apple ID, and a valid driver’s license. Renters must provide a home address and payment card. The minimum age requirement is 18, with higher age limits for more expensive vehicles.
Turo screens potential renters by requesting additional information and may conduct checks on personal and business credit reports, auto insurance scores, and criminal backgrounds. The company also uses a proprietary “risk score” based on over 50 data inputs to evaluate potential renters.
One of the individuals involved in the New Orleans attack, Shamsud-Din Jabbar, had a prior DUI conviction. Turo did not immediately respond to inquiries about whether this incident was flagged during their screening process.
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The driver involved in the New Orleans attack, identified as Jabbar, was a 42-year-old U.S.-born citizen hailing from Texas. A former U.S. Army veteran residing in Houston, Jabbar had reportedly shown support for ISIS through various videos posted prior to the attack, according to the FBI.
On December 30, 2024, Jabbar rented a Ford electric pickup truck from Turo in Houston and proceeded to drive to New Orleans the following day. Upon arriving in New Orleans on December 31, he circumvented barricades set up on Bourbon Street, which included law enforcement vehicles, before driving onto the sidewalk, as recounted by police officials. Tragically, the attack resulted in the loss of at least 14 lives and left numerous individuals injured.
In a separate incident on January 1, Matthew Alan Livelsberger, an active-duty U.S. Army Special Forces intelligence sergeant stationed in Germany but on leave in Colorado at the time, rented a Tesla Cybertruck from Turo. The 2024 model Cybertruck, rented in Colorado, was reported to have pulled up to the entrance doors of the Trump hotel on the morning of the same day. Subsequently, smoke was observed emanating from the vehicle, followed by a substantial explosion. Upon investigation, authorities discovered gasoline, camp fuel canisters, and sizeable firework mortars in the vehicle’s rear after the explosion occurred roughly 15 seconds after it had stopped in front of the building.
The Cybertruck explosion, currently under scrutiny as a potential act of terrorism, resulted in the fatality of the vehicle’s driver and caused injuries to seven individuals outside the vehicle. In a briefing on Thursday, Sheriff Kevin McMahill of the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department noted that the body found in the vehicle was severely burned, hindering immediate identification. However, investigators recovered Livelsberger’s military identification, passport, credit cards, and several firearms within the vehicle.
Elon Musk, the CEO of Tesla, took to his social media platform, X, to comment on the incident, mentioning that the Cybertruck’s design played a crucial role in containing the explosion’s impact. Musk expressed that the Cybertruck effectively redirected the blast upward, thereby preventing substantial damage, including the lobby’s glass doors remaining intact. He stated, “The evil knuckleheads picked the wrong vehicle for a terrorist attack,” underlining the Cybertruck’s resilience in the face of the explosion.
Conclusively, authorities continue to investigate the New Orleans truck attack, with a focus on identifying potential explosives used and gaining more insights into the suspects involved. The incidents have sparked grave concerns regarding public safety and the evolving nature of security threats in various regions.
