I Listed My Tesla on Turo Car Sharing and This Immediately Happened

This is not a post I want to write. I’m fresh off an incredible 9,000 km trip across Canada and have plenty of great things to share. Lessons learned, cool accessories I have found, and how I was able to make some serious cash putting my Tesla on Turo car sharing are the things I’m excited to discuss.

And yet, here we are.

Less than two months into ownership of my Tesla Model Y and it’s in need of some serious repairs. All because my very first Turo guest got into an accident.

On the positive, I get to share my experience here.

What is Turo Car Sharing?

Let’s back up. For those that are unaware, Turo car sharing gives vehicle owners an easy way to rent out their ride. It’s essentially Airbnb for cars and, from what I have read, it’s well-liked and works great. It gives renters an alternative to brand-name car rental companies and gives renters the option to earn a little extra income. What’s not to love?

READ MORE: How to Make Money Owning a Tesla

Why Would You Risk Renting Out Your Car on Turo?

For me, renting my Tesla on Turo car sharing was going to help pay for this very expensive purchase. Since I’m not commuting to an office these days, this made a lot of sense. Why not get some use out of it? Add to that the fact that maintenance is minimal and “fuel” is cheap, this seems like a no-brainer.

So the fact that my very first renter got into an accident extra stings, to say the least.

Even worse, this experience is doing little to quell the naysayers. No matter who I told that I was going to rent my Tesla on Turo car sharing, the reaction was the same.

“You’re renting out your Tesla?? What if they get into an accident?!”

Everyone.

This instant negativity made me want to go through with it even more. Similar to telling people I was going to drive across Canada in an EV, I was out to prove people wrong.

Now, unlike my incredible cross-country trip, I have a busted vehicle and weeks of arranging estimates and repairs ahead of me.

What Happened?

Back home in Vancouver, I was keen to once again prove people wrong. I quickly put together my Turo profile and clicked publish…then life happened.

Work got in the way and I forgot about Turo. That is until a week later when I was notified about my very first booking. I was excited.

I scrambled to go over Covid requirements, insurance coverage, and vehicle prepping, diligently taking notes along the way. My intention was/is to post all about this experience on myevtrips.com. Again, getting those posts online was a priority over this post. But here we are.

My renter arrived, we went over my pre-trip trip checklist (post coming soon), and off he went. As I waved goodbye I thought about the naysayers and smiled. I had put little effort in and already had a booking. What could go wrong?

The Accident

Fast forward to the next day when I got a panicked phone call.

“Umm… Hi Shaun.…How do I save dash cam footage again?“

Ugh.

I walked the renter through saving the footage and then asked what happened. While driving on a highway, a truck in front of him spun out and sideswiped my car.

Double ugh.

Here’s the dash camera footage:

What’s Next?

I let the renter go so he could deal with the situation. Although I was relieved no one was seriously hurt and it felt somewhat better to hear that it wasn’t his fault, I was fuming. On top of the mountain of paperwork and insurance hassle to come, I immediately thought of everyone who was negative on using Turo and could hear them collectively saying “I told you so.“

That’s oddly the worst part of this. I really wanted this idea to work but so far, I don’t see that happening.

After Turo and ICBC, the provincially mandated insurance company in British Columbia, take their 30%, I only made roughly $257 on this rental. That does not even come close to the expected loss of time and potential frustrations to come.

Then again, please prove me wrong Turo.

I’m at the very early stages of this and I have little verified other than I will not be out of pocket for any of the repair costs. Stay tuned as I will 100% be sharing all the details and hopefully, help others navigate this unfortunate situation should they decide Turo is worth it for them.

More to come

Looking to rent my car on Turo? Click here!