Tesla's Elon Musk is selling flamethrowers and raking in millions
31 Jan 2018
Elon Musk is now selling a flamethrower and in the process making millions out of it. The flamethrower from Musk, who owns The Boring Company, retails for $500.
Musk has already sold 10,000 units of the flamethrower and taken home $5 million from the sales.
The flamethrower is marketed as a device that can "liven up any party" and is being touted as the "world's safest flamethrower." It also comes with a "fire extinguisher sold separately. The extinguisher which costs an additional $30, "comes with a cool sticker".
Musk, who is also the CEO of autonomous car major Tesla and aerospace firm SpaceX, has been tweeting the sales of the flamethrower.
The $500 devices went on sale on Saturday, and over 9,000 have been ordered, he said. According to Musk another 10,000 or so units are still in stock.
"Obviously, a flamethrower is a super terrible idea. Definitely don't buy one," Musk stressed, before adding: "Unless you like fun." Or destroying the undead: "When the zombie apocalypse happens, you'll be glad you bought a flamethrower. Works against hordes of the undead or your money back," he tweeted.
According to commentators, the "flamethrower" is basically a glorified propane blowtorch of the type commonly used by gardeners for burning weeds, and for clearing snowy driveways. They say hardware of the kind typically goes for a couple hundred bucks, though, as Boring points out, such machines don't come with a cool sticker.
They further point out that given the availability of firearms and similar weapons in the US, it should come as little surprise that real flamethrowers are legal to own and operate in most US states. Some restrictions on their use are in place in California, namely that the flame cannot be more than 10 feet long. They are completely banned in Maryland.