I regret to inform you Elon Musk is at it again.
Not satisfied with selling 50,000 hats (and making over $1.2 million while doing it), Tesla/SpaceX founder Elon Musk has begun selling literal flamethrowers through the website for his drilling/tunnel-making venture, The Boring Company.
The reasoning behind Musk selling small-scale armaments online stems from a joke tweet he made after the company’s hats sold out, saying simply “Hats sold out, flamethrowers soon!”. However, staying on-brand, Musk actually went ahead with it, the absolute madman.
Accompanying the announcement was a number of Instagram posts from Musk, showing him menacingly chasing around a Boring Company cameraman, with the caption “I want to be clear that a flamethrower is a super terrible idea”.
“Definitely don’t buy one. Unless you like fun,” he said.
Branded with the company’s name and logo, you can pre-order a flamethrower for just US$500 ($616) from the company’s website. However, a series of tongue-in-cheek warnings on the website warn shoppers about the risks of purchasing a literal weapon, and also touches on potential taxes and custom fees.
It is illegal to own or import flamethrowers in Australia.
Musk has also denied allegations of him creating demand for his flamethrowers by manufacturing a zombie apocalypse after he tweeted: “When the zombie apocalypse happens, you’ll be glad you bought a flamethrower. Works against hordes of the undead or your money back!”
The rumor that I’m secretly creating a zombie apocalypse to generate demand for flamethrowers is completely false
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) January 28, 2018
You’d need millions of zombies for a so-called “apocalypse” anyway. Where would I even get a factory big enough to make so many!?
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) January 28, 2018
With over 4,000 flamethrowers sold, that equates to approximately $2.4 million raised. The webpage also offers a $30 fire extinguisher for sale, though Musk has not made any indication of the number of those sold.
Musk has suggested freezeguns and literal dirt as the next hot product sold through the Boring Company’s website.
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Dominic Powell is a journalist at SmartCompany and a tech and music geek. When he’s not writing, you can find him reading or browsing record shops.
