NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — Both the Ford truck used in the New Orleans terror attack and the Cybertruck used in the Las Vegas bombing were rented from the app Turo.
I spoke with some Turo fleet owners here in Nashville who say the app has been good to them but could use some improvements.
“I’ve enjoyed it so far. I’ve met some nice people,” said Tyrone Taylor.
For three years now he’s been renting out his small fleet to anyone looking to borrow a car.
“I’ve had a couple of issues,” he said.
Compared to a big car rental company, Turo users rent the car they want instead of a class of car.
Users get approved to drive and then coordinate with an owner like Taylor to pick up the car.
“They literally walked to the car hit a button. It opens up. The car and keys are in secure location,” said Taylor.
Over the years, Taylor says he's had a vehicle stolen, and another totaled.
Other fleet owners I spoke to say renters have used their vehicles to commit crimes.
“They supposedly do a little bit of a background check,” said Taylor. “They got into the car disconnected the software took my tracker out as well… I called the police did a report and decided to just drive around and see if I could find it.”
Taylor says he's learned his lessons, now tracking all his vehicles remotely and keeping them for airport rentals.
“Most of the people at least from my experience from out of town generally aren’t gonna do that. They got off the plane and had to have their driver’s license and everything,” said Taylor.
He loves giving visitors another way to explore Nashville, but ultimately the dollars and cents to him are still making sense.
The statement from Turo reads as follows:
From Andre Haddad
It’s been about 48 hours since the horrific attacks in New Orleans and Las Vegas that shocked us all on New Year’s Day. We’ve spent these tense, mournful hours investigating, partnering with law enforcement, and working around the clock to figure out how our platform could be misused by the perpetrators of such atrocities.
Thinking about the victims and their families, I’m shocked, saddened, and, more than anything else, just simply heartbroken. Their stories are crushing. Their loss is unfathomable and unfair.
Thinking about how egregiously the two individuals who perpetrated these heinous crimes abused our platform, I’m outraged. These individuals had valid driver’s licenses, clean criminal backgrounds, and were decorated US military servicemembers — one was honorably discharged and was even awarded a Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, and one was an active duty Green Beret. They could have boarded any plane, checked into any hotel, or rented a car or truck from any traditional vehicle rental chain. We do not believe these two individuals would have been flagged by anyone – including law enforcement.
But of course, these two tragedies have made us look inward at our trust and safety practices. Our track record to date has been strong. We have facilitated 27 million trips, over 90 million booked days, spanning 8.6 billion miles driven, through 12 years of operating history, and less than 0.10% of Turo trips have ended with a serious incident, such as a vehicle theft. Every Turo renter is screened through a proprietary multi-layer, data-science-based trust, and safety algorithm, the Turo Risk Score. We employ over 50 internal and external data sources to build, maintain, and improve on that Risk Score. This massive data set helps us drive actionable insights, and we continuously refine and enhance our algorithm. In addition to that investment in technologies, we’ve also assembled an experienced team of former law enforcement professionals in our Trust and Safety organization.
Despite this strong track record, and as an immediate next step, while we wait for law enforcement to conclude their investigations, we’re consulting with national security and counterterrorism experts to learn more about how we can get even better and play our part in helping prevent anything like this from happening ever again.
2025 is off to an awful start. While I mourn today, I also remain committed to pioneering and sustaining a strong, secure, trustworthy marketplace for tomorrow.
If you have more information about this story, please email me at Amanda.Roberts@newschannel5.com.
