Elon Musk is not kidding, folks — he is selling a flamethrower for $500.
We thought Elon Musk, the billionaire CEO of SpaceX and Tesla, was kidding when he promised that his tunneling venture, the Boring Company, would follow up on its sale of 50,000 logo caps by selling flamethrowers.
We still thought he was kidding when it turned out there was a stealthy, password-protected page on the Boring Company website, offering flamethrowers for $600.
But Elon Musk is not kidding, folks — and the flamethrower is a steal at $500 .
Musk touted the sale in a series of Instagram posts and tweets Saturday, starting soon after his announcement that the maiden launch of SpaceX’s Falcon Heavy rocket was set for Feb. 6:
Is that even legal? Is it safe? Musk has clearly researched those questions.
I’d be less scared of the steak knife, personally. Selling flamethrowers is permitted under federal regulations, and several companies do indeed sell them. One company even sells build-it-yourself flamethrower instructions. But state and local laws — for example, in California and Maryland — can be more restrictive. It’s best to check before you buy.
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Some of Musk’s fans voiced qualms:
Musk himself demonstrated what not to do with a flamethrower:
But perhaps the big question hanging over all this is… why?
One answer is that Musk enjoys turning wild and crazy ideas into reality, whether it’s sending people to Mars, digging transit tunnels beneath Los Angeles or marketing logo items like hats and flamethrowers.
And when it comes to this particular wild and crazy idea, the source is most likely the 1987 movie «Spaceballs,» a Star Wars spoof that also inspired the «Ludicrous Mode» label for the top speed setting for Tesla’s Model S electric car.
In one scene, Yogurt (a Yoda-like, wisecracking guru played by Mel Brooks) declares that merchandising is «where the real money from the movie is made» — and shows off his wares.
«Spaceballs the T-shirt! Spaceballs the coloring book! Spaceballs the lunchbox! Spaceballs the breakfast cereal! Spaceballs the flamethrower!» Yogurt says. «The kids love this one.»
Will the kids love these flamethrowers, or is it a lawsuit in the making? Stay tuned for the sequel .
Update for 10:05 p.m. PT Jan. 27: Apparently the Boring Company won’t be making an unlimited supply of flamethrowers. Is the 20,000-item limit part of Musk’s merchandising strategy?
This story originally appeared on GeekWire.
