California lawmakers added fuel to Elon Musk’s entrepreneurial fire last week when they cleared the way for sales of the investor’s newest — and probably hottest — product: personal flamethrowers.
In the coming weeks, some 20,000 people could be walking around with the devices, which resemble toy guns but are capable of emitting flames at least 2 feet long. In California, there will be little to regulate them because lawmakers quietly quashed a bill to rein in recreational fire-spitting.
Let’s back up.
Last December, one of Musk’s companies began selling hats to raise money for its vision of drilling tunnels under urban areas to beat gridlock.
Fired up by a positive public response, Musk promised on Twitter that if his Boring Company sold 50,000 hats, it would also begin selling “The Boring Company flamethrower.” He explained the logic of this merchandising leap in a later tweet: “I know it’s a little off-brand, but kids love it.”