- Turo is an app that allows people to rent out their cars to other drivers.
- The app was used to rent the vehicles used in two deadly incidents on New Year’s Day.
- Since it was founded in 2009, it has grown into the largest car-sharing app of its kind.
Turo is the car-sharing app used to rent the vehicles involved in deadly New Year’s Day incidents in Las Vegas and New Orleans.
It’s like an Airbnb for cars, allowing people to get paid for leasing their vehicles to other drivers.
Users get easy access to short-term rentals, while owners can rent out their vehicles as a side hustle or even a full-time business.
Compared with conventional car rental companies, Turo can sometimes offer lower prices or more convenient locations. It makes a commission on rentals and doesn’t have to run a fleet of cars.
Turo lists a very wide variety of vehicles, with some 1,600 makes and models on offer, including the CEO’s own Porsche 911 Carrera S. The platform also lists campervans and more exotic vehicles such as the Cybertruck to rent.
Andre Haddad, CEO of Turo, told CNBC on Friday that the company is working with law enforcement and that neither of the men who rented vehicles raised red flags when using the platform.
He said they were “decorated servicemen” and that they could have rented vehicles from a traditional car rental chain or checked into any hotel.
“There were no red flags. No one would have flagged them as a security risk. So it’s a very challenging situation to deal with,” he said.
Haddad said that the company uses an algorithm to screen for potential “trust and safety issues” with renters. He also said the company hasn’t seen any short-term changes from owners listing their vehicles on the platform.
The biggest car-sharing app in the US
Turo was called RelayRides when it was founded in 2009 by Shelby Clark, an entrepreneur and investor. The company changed its name to Turo in 2015 as it began to focus on longer-term rentals over quick trips. That year, it was included on Forbes’ list of “hottest on-demand startups,” with a valuation of $311 million.
It’s now the largest car-sharing app in the US, ahead of competitors such as Getaround and Car Shair. Turo had 360,000 cars listed on its platform at the end of 2023, and about 3.7 million bookings were made that year, according to a March 2024 filing. It is available in Canada, France, the UK and Australia as well as the US.
Turo says it aims to put the world’s 1.5 billion vehicles to better use and aspires to “fundamentally change car ownership,” per its website.
“The goal for us is to continue to grow the business as fast as possible for the next many many years,” Haddad told CNBC in September.
Lea Suzuki/San Francisco Chronicle via Getty Images
Haddad is a former eBay executive who was born in Lebanon. His company bio states that he helped grow eBay revenue from $750 million to $11.7 billion before joining Turo as CEO in 2011.
Turo reported nearly $880 million in revenue in 2023, up 18% year-on-year. It posted $14.7 million in profits, down from $154.7 million in 2022. Losses and high costs are common for fast-growing tech companies, especially those that are not yet public.
Turo has close to 1,000 employees and was valued at $1.5 billion in 2020, per PitchBook. The company registered for an IPO in 2021 but has not yet gone public.
In September, Turo announced a partnership with Uber that will give users access to Turo rentals on the Uber app.
“By joining forces with Uber, Turo is well positioned to penetrate a massive $150B-plus total addressable market,” Andro Vrdoljak, Turo’s business and corporate development VP, said in a press release.
How Turo vets users
To book a car on Turo, users need to set up an account with their email, phone number, credit card, and driver’s license.
In most cases, approval is instant but can take up to 48 hours if additional information, such as an insurance score or criminal background check is needed, according to the company’s website.
“Every Turo renter is screened through a proprietary multi-layer, data-science-based trust and safety process. We utilize over 50 internal and external data sources to build, maintain, and improve on our best-in-class Turo Risk Score,” a Turo spokesperson told Business Insider on Thursday.
The men involved in both incidents had valid driver’s licenses and clean background checks, they added.
After 12 years of operation and 27 million trips booked, fewer than 0.1% of Turo rentals ended with a serious incident, such as vehicle theft, the spokesperson said.
The company was working with law enforcement to support investigations into both incidents.
Employees from Turo’s trust and safety team have interrupted vacations and returned to work to help monitor and respond to the aftermath of the incidents, Bloomberg reported.
In the March 2024 filing, Turo said that it has no control over or ability to predict the actions of car renters, who it calls guests.
“We cannot conclusively verify the identity of all guests, nor do we verify or screen third parties who may be present during a trip using a vehicle booked through our platform,” Turo stated. “Our trust and safety processes focus primarily on guests to reduce the risk of vehicle theft and motor vehicle accidents.”
Cybertrucks
Most major car rental companies don’t offer Cybertrucks, so drivers who want to try one out but aren’t willing to shell out nearly $100,000 to buy one have turned to platforms like Turo.
Last January, about a month after Tesla’s launch event for the Cybertruck, some owners were already listing their vehicles on Turo for about $1,000 per day.
Some Turo hosts bought Cybertrucks specifically to rent them out to those curious about the model, InsideEVs reported in August.
Rental rates appear to have come down since then. On Thursday, for instance, Business Insider saw the option on Turo’s website to book a Cybertruck for $174 a day in the Washington, DC, area.
In November, Tesla started offering leases for Cybertrucks. A three-year lease runs $1,249 a month.
Tesla first unveiled the Cybertruck in 2019, though production didn’t start until 2023. The model has attracted attention from renters and buyers for its distinct shape, and Tesla CEO Elon Musk has billed the Cybertruck as tough enough to survive an apocalypse.
In the past year, Tesla has issued six recalls for the model, the latest of which warned that the Cybertruck could lose drive power.
What’s your experience hosting or renting with Turo? Contact these reporters at pthompson@businessinsider.com and abitter@businessinsider.com
