I believe the individual you responded to is stating that from a moral perspective it's murder, not from a legal perspective. I would agree with them as well.
I say this having never driven a Tesla, but are they really suitable rental cars? My understanding is that Tesla vehicles differ quite a bit from regular ICE vehicles, to the point that there's a bit of a learning curve to operating the car.
I'd be interested to hear from a Tesla owner on this. Maybe it's a non-issue.