Elon Musk’s Boring Company has racked up 15,000 pre-orders for its US$500 flamethrower, which the billionaire inventor has touted as insurance against a zombie apocalypse.
It sounds like a tongue-in-cheek invention, but the black-and-white, shotgun-sized flamethrower is legitimately for sale – and interest has been red-hot.
Musk announced the flamethrower on social media Jan. 27, and has been updating his pre-order numbers ever since. He tweeted that sales had surpassed 15,000 on Tuesday morning, with only 5,000 remaining.
The item listing says it will begin shipping in spring, with refunds available for any international customers who think twice after seeing the additional shipping and customs fees that might be required.
The listing also says the flamethrowers are not to be used on “Boring Company decorative lacquered hay bales or Boring Company dockside munitions warehouses.”
Musk founded the Boring Company in December 2016 as a tunnel-drilling firm. He also previously founded Tesla, SpaceX and PayPal’s predecessor.
The geeky billionaire has been cracking flamethrower and zombie jokes on Twitter for days.
“When the zombie apocalypse happens, you’ll be glad you bought a flamethrower,” he tweeted on Saturday. “Works against hordes of the undead or your money back!”
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
He also offered a brief word of caution, saying: “Obviously, a flamethrower is a super terrible idea. Definitely don’t buy one… Unless you like fun.”
Unless you like fun
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) January 28, 2018
Use of a flamethrower is extremely dangerous outside zombie apocalypse situations.
