SoylentNews is people
SoylentNews
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.
(Score: 3, Informative) by arslan on Tuesday June 12 2018, @06:14AM (6 children)
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)
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
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)
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
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)
From the XM42 page ... Do they know something the rest of us doesn't know about yet?
(Score: 2) by Osamabobama on Tuesday June 12 2018, @09:07PM
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.