[Fabulist]

Tesla Model S Convertible – 100 Confirmed Orders – 5,000 Model S EVs Requested

6 hours ago by Eric Loveday

Turns out there’s huge demand for a convertible Tesla Model S. Too bad Tesla Motors doesn’t offer one. In steps Newport Convertible Engineering (NCE).

NCE is widely known for its convertible conversions. It offers this type of conversion on countless high-end automobiles, including the Tesla Model S.

According to NCE, it received an order from one investor in China for 100 Tesla Model S convertibles. That’s from one investor.

NCE anticipates demand for the convertible Model S being so high that it claims to have contacted Tesla Motors in an effort to secure an order for 5,000 units

“Newport Convertible Engineering has officially requested Tesla Motors in a joint effort to build another 5,000 Tesla Model S convertible for a worldwide demand. Announcement will be made in April 18 2014.”

NCE says that it’ll begin work on the 100 Tesla Model S convertibles this July. Those vehicles will all be shipped to China. The conversion will take place at 3 NCE sites, including California, Dubai and Barcelona.

As for price, NCE says it offer two versions of a convertible Tesla Model S:

Ragtop conversion priced at $29,000
Hard tonneau cover conversion priced at $49,000
Plus the cost of the donor Tesla Model S.

So far, there have been no completed conversions, so the only image of the convertible Tesla Model S is the photo-shopped image found atop this article.

Source: Car Scoops, NCE

Link to original article.

 

[LonePalmBJ]

I think the chances of this happening are near zero.

Elon has a product roadmap and he's tightly controlling delivery quality. He's not going to cede either of those things to a third party. This company may claim to "offer" a conversion, but if Tesla won't sell them cars, and warns users that a conversion voids all warranties I doubt they'll even make a prototype.

Brent

 

[Lormax]

To void the warranty, they'd have to prove the conversion is what caused the problem.

 

[LonePalmBJ]

To void the warranty, they'd have to prove the conversion is what caused the problem.

Lormax,

That's not necessarily true. Tesla's official warranty documentation includes the following passage:

EXCLUSIONS AND LIMITATIONS

Warranty limitations
This New Vehicle Limited Warranty does not cover any vehicle damage or malfunction directly or indirectly caused by, due to or resulting from normal wear or deterioration, abuse, misuse, negligence, accident, lack of or improper
maintenance, operation, storage or transport, including, but not limited to, any of the following:
...
• Any repair, alteration or modification of the vehicle, or the installation or use of fluids, parts or accessories, made by a person or facility not authorized or certified to do so;


Assuming that Tesla does not want NCE to have permission to modify the cars they could very well claim it voids the warranty, or at least Tesla could make the argument that it does and take their chances in court. Elon has shown great willingness to litigate rather than bend.

Brent

 

[Lormax]

"directly or indirectly caused by"

They'd have to prove that it was indirectly caused by the modification somehow then. You're right that Elon may rather take his chances in court though.

 

[Fabulist]

Elon's megalomania aside, this could easily happen if there is enough demand for it. A warranty is basically an insurance policy where the price of the premium is rolled into the price of the car. NCE could use some of the proceeds from the conversion to buy an insurance policy that would cover Tesla if the conversion caused any problems and Tesla, in turn, could make the NCE modification a factory option or an authorized modification that would not void the car's overall warranty. If there is a demand, and both companies can make a few buck, I am sure they will find a way to make it happen.

 

[konig]

Wouldn't want to be in that car in a collision.

 

[Fabulist]

Wouldn't want to be in that car in a collision.

At least you will look good, right up to the moment of impact.

As is often said in skydiving and base jumping circles: