Billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk has long captivated the public with his electric vehicles, space rockets, and renewable energy projects. Now, the visionary founder of Tesla and SpaceX is venturing into a less benevolent market: flamethrowers.
Musk, whose achievements include the Falcon 9 rocket launch late last year and the upcoming Falcon Heavy debut in February, has added yet another item to his busy agenda. Alongside preparing the Tesla Semi electric truck and managing his usual slate of genius-level business activities, he has introduced a working flamethrower for consumers. According to Musk, 10,000 of these $500 devices have already been sold.
One of Musk’s latest ventures is The Boring Co., a firm aiming to dig tunnels at dramatically reduced costs—by a factor of 10 or more, per its website. While tunnels may sound mundane, the company aligns with Musk’s vision for a rapid-transit Hyperloop system that would rely on underground pathways.
So far, though, The Boring Co. has focused more on humor than excavation. In late 2017, Musk began selling branded caps through the site, raising $1 million from 50,000 hat sales. At the time, many thought his mention of flamethrowers was a joke; it now appears to be quite serious.
And indeed, the flamethrower has materialized. Over the weekend, Musk tweeted several times about the product, including an Instagram video showing him using the device to produce a flame roughly 2 feet long. He claimed the short flame length keeps it from meeting the federal definition of an illegal flamethrower.
“ATF [the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives] says any flamethrower with a flame shorter than 10 ft is A-ok. Our design is max fun for least danger. I’d be way more scared of a steak knife,” he tweeted.
When asked online, the Australian Federal Police advised potential buyers to “check with your local police for local laws.”
But The Boring Co. site shows only enthusiasm: “World’s safest flamethrower!” reads the product description.
“Before shipping, aspiring flamethrower aficionados will be sent a terms and conditions rhyme for review and acceptance. Starts shipping in spring.”
In more tongue-in-cheek descriptions, the company warns the flamethrower “may not be used on Boring Company decorative lacquered hay bales or Boring Company dockside munitions warehouses” and notes “fire extinguisher sold separately (for exorbitant amounts of money).”
A $30 “overpriced” fire extinguisher is also available on the website. After tweeting about hitting the 10,000 flamethrower sales mark, Musk added that only 3,000 of its fire extinguishers had been ordered.
“You can definitely buy one for less elsewhere, but this one comes with a cool sticker,” the website said.
However, a California lawmaker is not amused. He has criticized Musk’s incendiary new product and vowed to push for it to be made illegal in the state.
California Assemblyman Miguel Santiago (D-Los Angeles) cited law enforcement and public safety concerns.
“We don’t allow people to walk in off the street and purchase military-grade tanks or armor-piercing ammunition. I cannot even begin to imagine the problems a flamethrower would cause firefighters and police officers alike,” he said in a statement tweeted by a Los Angeles Times reporter Monday.
