Elon Musk’s plan to raise money for his tunneling venture by hawking flamethrowers came to fruition over the weekend, and the internet is already putting their incendiary new toys to good, er, use. So far, the first 1,000 people who ordered the Boring Company “Not-a-Flamethrower” have gotten their hands on the device and took to social media in short order. Musk made sure to warn everyone to “throw flames responsibility,” even producing a Dr. Seuss-inspired safety disclaimer with some recommendations on how the blaze-blaster could be used. Of course, that’s no guarantee customers of the device intend to use their new flamethrowers as directed. From grilling steaks to blazing, here are three ways people are getting lit with the Boring Company’s latest innovation. 1. Boring Flamethrowers Cooking Up a Storm Summer is here, which means it’s cookout and s’mores season. Instead of dusting off their grills or prepping a fire pit, countless pyros across the web have ditched their spatulas for a flamethrower. Steaks, marshmallows, creme brulee, and even doughnuts have been roasted using Musk’s newly released blowtorch. If you’re thinking about breaking out Musk’s flamethrower at your next dinner party, be sure you note that The Boring Company’s take on the flamethrower bears little resemblance to military-grade devices, which would almost certainly ignite flammable liquids with less delicious results. But it does appear in posts to work well as a kind of gimmicky propane torch, perfect for adding the crispy tops to creme brûlées or giving your s’mores a good sear. Would-be pyro-chefs should also be advised that the flamethrower appears to be a pretty blunt instrument in the kitchen. If you care about cooking your strip steak exactly how you want it, we’d recommend a more conventional grill. But that doesn’t mean your flamethrower won’t be perfect for flambeing a dozen desserts. In short, the Not-a-Flamethrower has already redefined cooking with fire. 2. Boring Flamethrowers on the Resale Market This odd-ball product release was all for the sake of helping the fledgling tunnel building company raise money to develop the hyperloop. The first few people that got their hands on the Musk’s flamethrower put down $500 to reserve it. And to little surprise, online entrepreneurs tried to flip the thing for huge margins. CNN spotted listings ranging from $3,000 to $20,000 on Ebay, shortly after the Boring Company’s event. These posts have since been taken down. This hasn’t stopped the one person trying to auction off the device’s instruction manual for a whopping $250. There’s not stopping these online scalpers. 3. Boring Flamethrowers Roasting Doobies Musk himself was probably talking about grills when he took to Twitter with the claim that there was “No more need to use a dainty match to ignite!” Of course, tokers like Twitter user Maxamilian Demian quickly abided with their own interpretation of Musk’s call to action, and found another use for their new match replacement. Pictured below with a joint the length of the propane tank (for safety reasons, naturally), Demian proceeds to blaze like no one has blazed before. He holds his doobie to the flame to spark up and triumphantly puffs but doesn’t pass. As joyful as he looks, we still wouldn’t recommend trying this at home.<doc-sep>tech2 News Staff Last weekend, Elon Musk’s Boring Company started to deliver its newest toy, the not-a-flamethrower, to its customers. Until now, over 20,000 units of the $500 not-a-flamethrower have been sold, with the first 1,000 units being distributed at an event at the Boring Company's HQ in Los Angeles. Musk called the event the “pick-up party” and people gathered in long queues to be a part of it. First 1000 Boring Company Flamethrowers being picked up today! pic.twitter.com/hBMp5fGzAB — Elon Musk (@elonmusk) June 9, 2018 Now, on one hand, a lot of people were excited about the flamethrower. They queued up, got the device home, made videos and said all good things about it. On the other hand, there are a large number of people who disapprove of the new Boring Company product. Safety is the biggest concern. For that matter, the name of the product, which went from the more descriptive but less interesting Flamethrower to the more tongue-in-cheek Not-A-Flamethrower owing to shipping and customs regulations, which restrict the transport of anything termed a flamethrower. Almost forgot! Due to recent regulatory/customs rules enacted to inhibit transport of anything called a Flamethrower, we have renamed our product: “Not a Flamethrower”. — Elon Musk (@elonmusk) June 9, 2018 The rather irreverent jab at govt regulations caught the attention of several critics. So in states where you’re not allowed to sell cars directly, can you open showrooms with a sign that says, “Internet Café”? — Owning a Tesla in the City (@lexiheft) June 9, 2018 Kind of glad. Wouldn't want to live in a country where the government let flamethrowers be legally transported. Then again, we allow open access to military-style assault weapons, so just change the name AR-15 and you'll be all good. — Gary Mottola (@graymottola) June 9, 2018 Of course, there were more fans than critics. People even suggested some alternate names for the flamethrower: “Brush reduction thermal applicator “ “BBQ charcoal igniter “ “Citronella mosquito repellent candle initiator” — Doug S. (@boxerdoug) June 9, 2018 Thermal weed remover. — Rick (@Rothbardian1627) June 10, 2018 Or “not not a Flamethrower” — Bereket (@Tesfatsion) June 9, 2018 Notn't a flamethrower — Dexter (@dmarksbarber) June 9, 2018 "Creme Brulee Torch (LARGE)" — รς๏tt ๏l๔Ŧเєl๔ (@scuttlefield) June 10, 2018 How about portable dragoon?? XD — Fer Lara (@elpesto) June 9, 2018 ! better a liquid Flashlight — ed bleakney (@ed_bleakney) June 11, 2018 Should have called it a flame blower — ed bleakney (@ed_bleakney) June 11, 2018 Yesn't a flamethrower — Max Zalinko (@MaxZzed) June 9, 2018 However, the real division was between the haters and lovers of the products, and it’s a an interesting contrast. Here goes the lovers: Picked up “Not A Flamethrower” in LA. Convinced some drunks to let us spook their neighbors with it. Checked it at the airport as “a toy.” Got “randomly selected” 3 times between the 2 of us, reaking if propane. Item itself was never flagged. Here’s CPD photobombing the finale: pic.twitter.com/ou37zhqyK9 — Johnny Xmas (@J0hnnyXm4s) June 11, 2018 I made a mess... but loving my flamethrower hahahahaha. Can’t wait for you guys to see these videos! @iPhonedo pic.twitter.com/SgqkMOgaaV — Justine Ezarik (@ijustine) June 10, 2018 Just want to say thanks to @elonmusk , the @boringcompany not-a-flamethrower is the best 500$ I’ve ever spent pic.twitter.com/MFQbx0dPSD — Brendan Finn (@Brf1998Finn) June 11, 2018 Here goes the haters i don’t think america has a way back from “the guy who claims to be able to fix the largest metro area’s transit crisis is also the guy who wants to fund it by selling flamethrowers to the general public” — noah kulwin (@nkulw) June 11, 2018 There’s no legitimate reason for anyone to casually own a flamethrower. Yet this is being marketed a cool toy for man-children with way too much disposable income. https://t.co/7MsH6oUroI — Jonathan McIntosh (@radicalbytes) June 9, 2018 what the fuck are you gonna do with a flamethrower you freakin epic le bacon CEO of a startup ass favourite show is Entourage ass wearing sneakers with jeans to the office ass bitches — lucy valentine (@LucyXIV) June 11, 2018 I set a Google alert for 'flamethrower incident' — Robin Seemangal (@nova_road) June 10, 2018 Flamethrower obv best way to light your fireplace/BBQ. No more need to use a dainty “match” to ignite! If no wood, just drop your flamethrower in fire place! It will generate way more warmth than a quaint pile of logs. — Elon Musk (@elonmusk) June 9, 2018 But with a haters-gonna-hate attitude, Musk soon tweeted the “best way to use” the flamethrower and what not to do. Flamethrower obv best way to light your fireplace/BBQ. No more need to use a dainty “match” to ignite! If no wood, just drop your flamethrower in fire place! It will generate way more warmth than a quaint pile of logs. — Elon Musk (@elonmusk) June 9, 2018 Terms & conditions for “Not-a-Flamethrower” 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 — Elon Musk (@elonmusk) June 9, 2018 And oh, they have bundled a fire extinguisher for safety! Each flamethrower comes with a state-of-the-art The Boring Company brand fire extinguisher. Will offer a TBC ice blaster before the dry season starts in winter. — Elon Musk (@elonmusk) June 9, 2018 The popularity of the Not A Flamethrower genuinely raises concerns, especially because the safety instruction of the product sound more like a joke. Recently, YouTuber Justine Ezarik unboxed the device in a video, in which the tech reviewer Faruk Korkmaz commented, "Read the terms, they're not joking. Even though it's written in a joking manner." What are your thoughts? Do you think a flamethrower should be sold in a market like any other toy? Would you buy one?<doc-sep>
Elon Musk's "Not-A-Flamethrower" flamethrowers are resulting in (you guessed it) a whole lot of fiery folly. Beginning in January, about 20,000 people shelled out $500 apiece for the propane-fueled devices, sold by Musk's The Boring Company (TBC), according to a statement on TBC's website. The first 1,000 were delivered June 9 to their gleeful owners, and unsurprisingly, they are being used in spectacularly irresponsible ways — many of which were shared on social media. Some creative applications for the fire makers included grilling steaks, popping popcorn, igniting Tiki torches and even lighting up what appeared to be a massive blunt, Futurism reported. [Watch SpaceX's Elon Musk Play with a Flamethrower (Video)] Flamethrowers were once used in trench warfare, and today firefighters use the handheld torches for back-burning — creating controlled burns in order to contain a fire by preemptively destroying wood that it would use for fuel, according to the International Association of Wildland Fire. But many of those who bought TBC's Not-A-Flamethrower had much more frivolous uses in mind, as they all too readily demonstrated. YouTuber Justine Ezarik (@ijustine) posted a video on June 18 that showed her testing Not-A-Flamethrower in her backyard, cooking hot dogs, an egg, a hamburger, a pan full of popcorn and an entire chicken. At one point in the video, Ezarik remarked, "Who would have thought? Fake grass and flames don't mix," suggesting that she had accidentally set fire to the artificial turf in her yard. See more Other Not-A-Flamethrower owners merrily demonstrated how you could use the flamethrower to light a campfire, sear the surface of a crème brulee, or ignite the end of what looked like a giant, hand-rolled blunt. See more On June 9, after Musk tweeted repeatedly about the flamethrower pickup event at SpaceX headquarters in Hawthorne, California, Twitter user @SPPhotonic questioned why Musk was not more concerned about fire hazards in California, where record drought has recently contributed to some of the worst wildfires in the state's history. Musk's response was disappointingly flip. He remarked that fire extinguishers were sold alongside the flamethrowers and promised that a TBC "ice blaster" would be offered "before the dry season starts in winter." See more Is the sight of all this flaming foolhardiness sparking your interest in a flamethrower of your own? If it is, Musk and TBC can't help you — Not-A-Flamethrower sales "are now complete," according to the company website. However, you might be able to satisfy your burning desire on eBay, where you can pick up one of the now-defunct flamethrowers for $1,000 to $5,000. Original article on Live Science.