On Saturday morning, Elon Musk’s The Boring Company finally released its highly anticipated “Not-A-Flamethrower” flamethrower, which was named as such after Musk was told by customs officials that he was not allowed to sell any items called “flamethrowers.” He celebrated the occasion by holding a “pick-up party” at SpaceX in Los Angeles to give away the first 1,000, and it was attended by those eager to get their hands on their very own weapons of destruction.
Musk initially floated the idea of selling flamethrowers to help fund his infrastructure tunneling company, which many took as a joke. But after he put his dreams into reality by offering 20,000 pre-orders at $500 a pop, they sold out in just a matter of days, raising $10 million for The Boring Company.
The remaining 19,000 flamethrowers will be shipped to customers, but those lucky enough to attend the pick-up party were allowed to test out the device on site, by roasting … what else? Marshmallows! If you like your marshmallows completely incinerated, anyway.
First 1000 Boring Company Flamethrowers being picked up today! pic.twitter.com/hBMp5fGzAB
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) June 9, 2018
Nothing makes your baby more zen than a few gentle puffs of a TBC Flamethrower pic.twitter.com/HewJf66hh2
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) June 9, 2018
Firing up the @boringcompany flamethrower. I forgot to eat the marshmallow! pic.twitter.com/lkSIA7BK71
— Danny Sullivan (@dannysullivan) June 9, 2018
My wife firing up the @boringcompany flamethrower pic.twitter.com/zgYh5vyZ78
— Danny Sullivan (@dannysullivan) June 9, 2018
#Saturday. #BoringCompany #NotAFlameThrower #PickupParty #RoastingMarshmallowsTheRIGHTWay pic.twitter.com/6pPQo68yTt
— Misty Lee – She/Her 👻 (@Misty_Lee) June 9, 2018
☑️ flamethrower
— Brownies & Lemonade🍫🍋 (@TeamBandL) June 9, 2018
☑️ roasted marshmallows
thanks @elonmusk pic.twitter.com/725sGGsXE8
Musk also tweeted out the terms and conditions for his “Not-A-Flamethrower,” which will ostensibly protect his company from liability for the inevitable flamethrower injuries and property damages, which come along with … you know, handing out actual flamethrowers to people.
Terms & conditions for “Not-a-Flamethrower”
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) June 9, 2018
Please use as directed to avoid unintentionally burning things down. For simple & concise instructions, we drew upon wisdom in great Dr Seuss book “Green Eggs and Ham”. #ThrowFlamesResponsibly pic.twitter.com/kgj8W8EOLJ
The hot ticket items also come with a 10-page manual including other sensible tips such as not pointing the Not-A-Flamethrower at your face, people, animals, or flammable objects, and not to touch the nozzle during or after use. It also suggests having a fire extinguisher and a bucket of water on hand when using the Not-A-Flamethrower.
And that’s all well and good, but still … our world just became 20,000 flamethrowers richer, and it’s only a matter of time.
I set a Google alert for 'flamethrower incident'
— Robin Seemangal (@nova_road) June 10, 2018