An online car rental service has come under intense scrutiny after it was used in two incidents on Wednesday.
The platform Turo is known as the “Airbnb of cars” because it allows individual car owners to rent out their cars. Vehicle owners, known as “hosts,” can post their vehicles on Turo’s website, and people can rent them by paying through the platform.
Tullo acknowledged in an online statement posted Wednesday that it was used in both incidents.
“We are disappointed to confirm that this morning’s horrific attack in New Orleans and this afternoon’s Tesla Cybertruck explosion in Las Vegas both involved vehicles rented from Turo,” the company said in a statement. Ta. “Our thoughts and prayers are with the victims and their families.”
The company said it does not believe anyone who may have rented the car involved in the incident had a criminal history that would “result in them being considered a security threat” and that no information indicating a link between the two incidents exists. He said he did not know.
In a statement Thursday afternoon, Tullo said the renter had a valid driver’s license, completed a background check and was 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 rental car chain,” Tullo said. “We do not believe that these two individuals were not reported by anyone, including major rental agencies and law enforcement.”
Investigators have previously said Tullo rented a pickup truck, drove it through revelers in New Orleans early Wednesday morning, and drove it to the Trump International Hotel in Las Vegas, loaded with explosives. announced that it had procured the Tesla Cybertruck that caught fire outside.
Authorities previously said it was a coincidence that the service was used in both incidents. On Thursday afternoon, authorities said there was no definitive connection between the two incidents.
Turo, formerly known as RelayRides, was founded in 2009. It comes amid a broader boom in peer-to-peer startups like Airbnb and Uber. It has attempted to disrupt many traditional markets including housing, automobiles, and even pool rentals. .
But with that chaos came security concerns. For years, peer-to-peer platforms like Turo have come under fire when cars are stolen and used for illicit purposes. Both companies have previously said such incidents are extremely rare. However, NBC News reports that over a four-month period from October 2019 to February 2020, there were approximately 49 reports of car thefts in Washington, D.C., where cars rented from Turo or its competitor Getaround were reported to have been stolen. We found that this accounted for 6% of all incidents during the incident period. period.
As of Sept. 30, Turo had approximately 150,000 active hosts worldwide, with 350,000 active vehicle listings and 3.5 million active guests on its marketplace, according to company filings. He is said to be participating in the
Turo’s website states that hosts are told they are “safe” to trust the platform because Turo “screens each guest” so they can “hand over their keys with confidence.” I am.
