What's Turo? The 'Airbnb of cars' was used in New Orleans and Las Vegas incidents

An online car rental service is under scrutiny after it was used in two incidents Wednesday.

The platform, Turo, is known as an “Airbnb of cars,” as it allows individual car owners to rent out their vehicles. Vehicle owners, known as “hosts,” can post cars to Turo’s website, where people can then rent them, with payments made through the platform.

Turo acknowledged it was used in both incidents in an online statement posted Wednesday.

"It is with a heavy heart that we confirm that this morning’s horrific attack in New Orleans and this afternoon’s Tesla Cybertruck explosion in Las Vegas both involved vehicles rented on Turo," the company said. "Our thoughts and prayers are with the victims and their families."

It said it did not believe the individuals who may have rented the autos involved in the incidents had criminal backgrounds "that would have identified them as a security threat," and that it was not aware of any information that indicates the two incidents were related. 

Turo said in a statement Thursday afternoon that the vehicles' renters had valid driver's licenses and clean background checks and that they were honorably discharged from the U.S. military.

"They could have boarded any plane, checked into a hotel, or rented a car or truck from a traditional vehicle rental chain," Turo said. "We do not believe these two individuals would have been flagged by anyone — including Big Rental or law enforcement."

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Investigators had said earlier that Turo was used to rent a pickup truck that plowed through New Orleans revelers early Wednesday and procure a Tesla Cybertruck that was filled with explosives and burst into flames outside Trump International Hotel in Las Vegas.

Authorities have preliminarily said the service’s use in both incidents is a coincidence. On Thursday afternoon, authorities said there was not a definitive link between the two incidents.

Turo, previously known as RelayRides, was created in 2009. It came of age during the broader boom in peer-to-peer startups, like Airbnb and Uber, that sought to disrupt many traditional markets including rentals of houses, automobiles and even swimming pools.

But with that disruption came concerns about security. For years, peer-to-peer platforms like Turo have faced criticisms after cars have been stolen to be used for nefarious purposes. The companies have previously responded that such incidents are exceedingly rare. However, over an approximately four-month period between October 2019 and February 2020, NBC News found some 49 reports of motor vehicle thefts in Washington, D.C., involved cars rented from Turo or its rival, Getaround, representing 6% of all incidents during the period.

As of Sept. 30, Turo had about 150,000 active hosts worldwide, with 350,000 active vehicle listings and 3.5 million active guests participating on its marketplace, according to a company filing.

Turo’s website tells hosts that they are “safe” in trusting the platform because Turo “screen(s) each guest,” so hosts can be “confident when they hand over” their keys.