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posted by martyb on Tuesday June 12 2018, @05:03AM   Printer-friendly
from the Flaming-but-Not-Boring-Dept dept.

Six months after Elon Musk raised the eyebrows of sane people everywhere by announcing his Boring Co. would sell flamethrowers for $500 a pop, the first 1,000 deliveries were made Saturday for customers who showed up at the company's headquarters in Hawthorne, Calif.

The flamethrowers went like, well, flaming hotcakes when they went on sale in late January, selling out in just four days. In all, 20,000 were sold, raising about $10 million in revenue for Musk's tunnel-boring startup. The devices, technically called "Not a Flamethrower" to skirt federal shipping regulations, shoot a two-foot flame.

[...] Despite concerns about the wisdom of allowing personal flamethrowers in wildfire-prone California, state legislators last month shelved legislation that would have required them to come with a safety warning.

[...] 2017 was California's most destructive wildfire season ever, with more than 9,000 fires burning acreage the size of Delaware and killing at least 46 people.


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  • (Score: -1, Flamebait) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday June 12 2018, @05:58AM (8 children)

    by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday June 12 2018, @05:58AM (#691795)

    If this shitpost gets +5 updoots, muskrat’s flamethrowers will kill more people than his cars.

    • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday June 12 2018, @07:11AM (4 children)

      by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday June 12 2018, @07:11AM (#691811)

      If this shitpost gets +5 updoots, muskrat’s flamethrowers will kill more people than his cars.

      You mean two or more?

      • (Score: 2) by Phoenix666 on Tuesday June 12 2018, @02:17PM (3 children)

        by Phoenix666 (552) on Tuesday June 12 2018, @02:17PM (#691908) Journal

        That's a good point. How is it that the press makes such a huge deal out of the two deaths in Tesla cars, but says nothing about the tens of thousands of people who die in other brands?

        For that matter, why does everyone run around with their hair on fire about firearms and the deaths that result from their misuse, but say nothing about the orders of magnitude more people who die when cars are misused? People who misuse firearms generally tend to intend to misuse them, but then so do drivers who misuse cars to speed, cut others off, run red lights, and the like. There are even those who use automobiles to intentionally run over others. Why aren't the same people crying about guns crying about cars, too?

        --
        Washington DC delenda est.
        • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday June 12 2018, @03:58PM

          by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday June 12 2018, @03:58PM (#691967)

          Because other brands don't advertise as having autopilot. Teslas no longer have all the needed sensors because Musk is arrogant enough to not think they're needed.

          Also whataboutism isn't helpful. We know that Teslas aren't anywhere near good enough at self driving, they fail to handle Easy situations like vehicles parked in the side of the road, highway exits and motorcycles in the lane ahead.

          This is basic stuff that humans generally get right. The situations that lead to most deaths the cars can't handle anyways.

        • (Score: 2) by PartTimeZombie on Tuesday June 12 2018, @11:16PM (1 child)

          by PartTimeZombie (4827) on Tuesday June 12 2018, @11:16PM (#692142)

          ...run around with their hair on fire about firearms and the deaths that result from their misuse...

          I'm not sure you've thought that through.

          As you pointed out in your post, when people misuse a motor vehicle, the intention is usually to go fast, not to kill someone.

          The misuse of firearms is always with the intention of shooting someone. The two are not even a good comparison, despite you mentioning the vehicular murders that have occured recently.

          Those are so execptional to be front page news for days.

          I suppose the point is that a vehicle has a use beyond murdering people, a handgun does not.

          • (Score: 2) by Phoenix666 on Wednesday June 13 2018, @12:38PM

            by Phoenix666 (552) on Wednesday June 13 2018, @12:38PM (#692313) Journal

            I suppose the point is that a vehicle has a use beyond murdering people, a handgun does not.

            Sure it does. I've used handguns more times than I can count, but I have never once used it to murder people. I use them for target shooting. Other people use them for home protection. Farmers outside town where I grew up used them to put down livestock with broken legs, or to kill coyotes.

            People use long guns for the same, but also for hunting. That may not be a common use for urbanites, but it's an important supplement to the family food supply in many parts of the West.

            There's also, of course, the purpose for why the Founding Fathers enshrined firearm possession in the Constitution, as a check on government overreach. Many scoff at that idea now, but they conveniently gloss over how busy people in Iraq and Afghanistan kept the history's largest and most powerful military for years with weapons no heavier than handguns and rifles. That is, they had no tanks, or attack choppers, or fighter jets, or missiles, or satellites either.

            --
            Washington DC delenda est.
    • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday June 12 2018, @07:34AM (1 child)

      by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday June 12 2018, @07:34AM (#691814)

      Back to 8chan

      • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday June 12 2018, @02:05PM

        by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday June 12 2018, @02:05PM (#691899)

        Rules 1 and 2, faggot

    • (Score: 2) by Osamabobama on Tuesday June 12 2018, @09:03PM

      by Osamabobama (5842) on Tuesday June 12 2018, @09:03PM (#692101)

      muskrat’s flamethrowers

      (Score: -1, Flamebait)

      I should have seen that coming...

      --
      Appended to the end of comments you post. Max: 120 chars.
  • (Score: 2, Informative) by anubi on Tuesday June 12 2018, @06:03AM

    by anubi (2828) on Tuesday June 12 2018, @06:03AM (#691798) Journal

    Propane and Propane Accessories...

    Harbor Freight sells one for a couple of sawbucks ( around $20 ).

    Here's a youtube of a guy reviewing it... [youtube.com]

    People have been using these things for quite some time now...

    --
    "Prove all things; hold fast that which is good." [KJV: I Thessalonians 5:21]
  • (Score: 3, Informative) by arslan on Tuesday June 12 2018, @06:14AM (6 children)

    by arslan (3462) on Tuesday June 12 2018, @06:14AM (#691800)

    This is a great example that you don't need a great product, just great marketing... decent product helps of course.

    • (Score: 3, Insightful) by anubi on Tuesday June 12 2018, @06:33AM (1 child)

      by anubi (2828) on Tuesday June 12 2018, @06:33AM (#691805) Journal

      Gotta admit I like Elon's design... thing looks more like a superhero weapon than a tool.

      My belief is that this is a fundraising premium... it's something to show your friends that you support Elon.

      I was glad to see Congress stayed out of this. Similar tools have been around for quite some time. I remember seeing them used on the farm to clear off brush.

      And, like I posted before, commodity tools do the same thing.

      However each of these tools can be just as dangerous if not handled properly... as is damn near any tool - especially power tools.

      --
      "Prove all things; hold fast that which is good." [KJV: I Thessalonians 5:21]
      • (Score: 2) by tfried on Tuesday June 12 2018, @09:20AM

        by tfried (5534) on Tuesday June 12 2018, @09:20AM (#691839)

        Well, it's rarely a good idea to use a tool as a toy. And what makes this overpriced propane torch such a bad idea(TM) is that is plainly encourages just that. It probably is not even suitable for using as a tool (probably too heavy; cannot really be used single-handedly even if light enough; is it even safe for prolonged operation with the nozzle pointed downwards?).

        Frankly, I don't see how this could possibly be banned without severe idiotic side-effects. But that still does not make it a good idea. It's about as clever as building a fully functional buzz saw or nail gun into a toy package.

    • (Score: 2) by canopic jug on Tuesday June 12 2018, @09:30AM (3 children)

      by canopic jug (3949) Subscriber Badge on Tuesday June 12 2018, @09:30AM (#691840) Journal

      It's also not a flamethrower, just expensive marketing for a non-product and it has consigned real products with the same name to search engine oblivion. There was a guy who really did make one that sprayed liquid fuel a great distance. It was a real flamethrower and actually for sale online. However, I can't find the original write-up as Musk has googlebombed it into oblivion. It may have been the XM42 [xproducts.com] which can spray 25+ meters. Ironically it's illegal in California where the ecology is fire-based and it could be put to good use.

      --
      Money is not free speech. Elections should not be auctions.
      • (Score: 2) by canopic jug on Tuesday June 12 2018, @09:33AM

        by canopic jug (3949) Subscriber Badge on Tuesday June 12 2018, @09:33AM (#691842) Journal

        Correction : 10+ meters

        --
        Money is not free speech. Elections should not be auctions.
      • (Score: 3, Informative) by looorg on Tuesday June 12 2018, @01:40PM (1 child)

        by looorg (578) on Tuesday June 12 2018, @01:40PM (#691882)

        From the XM42 page ... Do they know something the rest of us doesn't know about yet?

        PRACTICAL USES FOR A FLAMETHROWER:
        ...
        Destroying hordes of zombies efficiently

        • (Score: 2) by Osamabobama on Tuesday June 12 2018, @09:07PM

          by Osamabobama (5842) on Tuesday June 12 2018, @09:07PM (#692103)

          I would have said "possible uses for a flamethrower," so when I read "practical," I think they must know something the rest of us do not.

          --
          Appended to the end of comments you post. Max: 120 chars.
  • (Score: 4, Touché) by c0lo on Tuesday June 12 2018, @08:43AM (3 children)

    by c0lo (156) Subscriber Badge on Tuesday June 12 2018, @08:43AM (#691834) Journal

    I mean, look, sell a few bazookas and you'll get enough funding to even employ professional editors. (grin)

    --
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoFiw2jMy-0 https://soylentnews.org/~MichaelDavidCrawford
    • (Score: 3, Insightful) by Phoenix666 on Tuesday June 12 2018, @02:12PM (2 children)

      by Phoenix666 (552) on Tuesday June 12 2018, @02:12PM (#691905) Journal

      Nah. Bazookas and flamethrowers have been done. Railguns are the new hotness.

      --
      Washington DC delenda est.
      • (Score: 2) by c0lo on Tuesday June 12 2018, @02:20PM

        by c0lo (156) Subscriber Badge on Tuesday June 12 2018, @02:20PM (#691910) Journal

        Railguns are the new hotness.

        Heck, let me point to you that copper is expensive and you can't have a railgun without copper.
        This will cut into S/N margin.

        --
        https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoFiw2jMy-0 https://soylentnews.org/~MichaelDavidCrawford
      • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday June 12 2018, @02:41PM

        by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday June 12 2018, @02:41PM (#691917)

        But only lasers can reach cockpits :}

  • (Score: 2) by tangomargarine on Tuesday June 12 2018, @04:01PM (3 children)

    by tangomargarine (667) on Tuesday June 12 2018, @04:01PM (#691969)

    do flamethrowers have to do with digging tunnels

    --
    "Is that really true?" "I just spent the last hour telling you to think for yourself! Didn't you hear anything I said?"
    • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday June 12 2018, @04:29PM (1 child)

      by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday June 12 2018, @04:29PM (#691983)

      When they dig tunnels, the zombies fall into them and they need flamethrowers to defend the workers?

      • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday June 12 2018, @10:51PM

        by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday June 12 2018, @10:51PM (#692127)

        Last time I checked a zombie could reach further than 24" so you might wanna rethink your defensive plans.

    • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday June 13 2018, @05:34PM

      by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday June 13 2018, @05:34PM (#692421)

      They are useful in combating those "Tremors" worms you can run across while boring new tunnels.

  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday June 13 2018, @05:40PM

    by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday June 13 2018, @05:40PM (#692425)

    that was a close one!

    "state legislators last month shelved legislation that would have required them to come with a safety warning."

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