Huntington Beach company creates first Tesla convertible

HUNTINGTON BEACH, Calif. (KABC) -- The electric Tesla Model S car rose to popularity when it debuted in 2012, but the car stopped standing out from the pack.

That is until a Huntington Beach-based engineering company customized a Tesla Model S into a power soft-top convertible. Technicians at Newport Convertible Engineering, which has been around since 1983, claim they can turn almost any car into a convertible.

While the Model S seems like it would be a more difficult car to turn into a convertible, the engineering company's CEO and lead engineer Al Zadeh said it wasn't.

Zadeh said the Tesla is a well-built vehicle and that made it a little easier to customize the car.

"Tesla was actually a very, very good challenge being one of our very first electric vehicles, but I think I did a pretty good job overall at the end," he said.

For drivers who aren't fans of soft-top convertibles, Newport Convertible Engineering is in the process of creating a Tesla hard-top coupe.

While the hardtop is not a functioning car just yet, renderings are available to show what the car will look like. The company also has renderings of a two-door soft top convertible.

In order to get your customized Tesla, simply order the car and send it over to Newport Convertible Engineering where the car can be converted.

Zadeh said the next customization on a Tesla can run for as much as $29,000.