
Boring Flamethrower - avianlyric
https://www.boringcompany.com/flamethrower/
======
morisy
Someone else noted that this appears to be an off-the-shelf flamethrower
coupled with the plastic body of a commercial electric rifle. Total cost of
those two items: $170.

Flamethrower: [https://www.amazon.com/Push-Start-Propane-Blow-Torch-
Long/dp...](https://www.amazon.com/Push-Start-Propane-Blow-Torch-
Long/dp/B076QGV1PY?th=1)

Rifle:
[https://www.evike.com/products/68300/](https://www.evike.com/products/68300/)

Via [https://taskandpurpose.com/elon-musks-600-flamethrower-
will-...](https://taskandpurpose.com/elon-musks-600-flamethrower-will-
apparently-released-civilian-market-april/)

~~~
sjburt
The hat was just an off-the-shelf black hat combined with length of white
embroidery thread.

~~~
keane
The Tesla Roadster was just an off-the-shelf AC drivetrain system for lithium-
ion cars coupled with the body of a commercial sportscar. Total cost of these
two items: $267,690.*

AC drivetrain by AC Propulsion:
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AC_Propulsion_tzero](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AC_Propulsion_tzero)

Sportscar body by Lotus:
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lotus_Elise](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lotus_Elise)

Via [http://www.nytimes.com/2003/09/19/travel/driving-lots-of-
zoo...](http://www.nytimes.com/2003/09/19/travel/driving-lots-of-zoom-with-
batteries.html) *Lotus Elise: $47,690; AC Propulsion AC-150: $25,000; AC
Propulsion tzero: $220,000

Flamethrower, hat, roadster –– all share the same pattern… Maybe this is
Elon's modus operandi for creating consumer products.

~~~
muthdra
OMG guys you are so right even PayPal is just a bunch of off-the-shelf
processors coupled together with some sort of digital language. The people
there are not even doing real accounting. Wake up, sheeple. You're being
ripped off!

------
rdtsc
I was surprised except for California (and maybe another state) owning a
flamethrower is legal.

[https://throwflame.com/](https://throwflame.com/)

$1800 "Get Yours Today".

Complete, of course, with a Napalm mix package
[https://throwflame.com/products/napalm-mix-fuel-gelling-
agen...](https://throwflame.com/products/napalm-mix-fuel-gelling-agents/) "It
thickens normal fuel to create a long lasting burn that goes great with your
X15 Flamethrower"

These are basically in the same category as WWI/WWII military flamethrowers.
It seems these should be very illegal but I guess they are not. That just
boggles my mind.

~~~
jschwartzi
Why should they be illegal? Anyone can whack one together with $100 in parts
anyway. I wouldn't choose to own one and if I saw someone carrying one I would
give then a wide berth but I don't believe everything that makes me nervous
should be outlawed.

It's basically a big ditch burner.

~~~
FLUX-YOU
>It's basically a big ditch burner.

Surely you don't need a 50 foot range to start a fire.

~~~
saulrh
I dunno, have you ever seen someone decide to burn a really dry christmas
tree? If I'm lighting a big bonfire I'd definitely prefer to have as much
distance as possible between me and the fire.

~~~
majewsky
Why would you burn it? At least where I live, old christmas trees are handled
by the regular trash collection.

~~~
candiodari
Plus there are some people who believe that to light a christmas tree after
christmas, that this can in fact be accomplished using a flame slightly
shorter than 50 feet.

[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MeiSDF83mXo](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MeiSDF83mXo)

------
tomjacobs
Ahahahahhahhaaa [https://giphy.com/gifs/the-simpsons-hank-scorpio-
zqhZB6bo5Fg...](https://giphy.com/gifs/the-simpsons-hank-scorpio-
zqhZB6bo5FgoE)

------
coryfklein
I saw this as serving primarily as ironic humor. Tunnels are boring, and a
boring company selling flamethrowers... Even if the flamethrowers are real,
their purpose is to serve as a joke, not as a flamethrower, hence the
justification of the $500 price tag.

Nobody has to buy the flamethrower any more than they had to throw their money
into Cards Against Humanity's money pit.

------
JasonSage
For everybody wondering what this is about:

[https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/940056523304181762](https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/940056523304181762)

~~~
bigd
Remember this spaceballs scene
[https://m.imgur.com/t/funny/Q13Qr](https://m.imgur.com/t/funny/Q13Qr) ? it
cannot be a coincidence.

------
ronnier
I feel like I’m missing some context here as to why this is #1 in HN right
now.

~~~
quizbiz
It's a practical example of how to bootstrap your startup!

------
kowdermeister
In action:

[https://www.instagram.com/p/BeeUSFwgLrM/](https://www.instagram.com/p/BeeUSFwgLrM/)

[https://www.instagram.com/p/BeeYW0NA1HU/](https://www.instagram.com/p/BeeYW0NA1HU/)

~~~
zeep
That's not a real flame thrower.... I used to do something similar to this
when I was 10 with a hair-spray can and a lighter

------
git_rancher
Maybe this is the "make a favorable impression with rich people at LA parties"
PR tactic.

------
tim333
Elon demoing (vid)
[https://www.instagram.com/p/BeeYW0NA1HU/?utm_source=ig_embed...](https://www.instagram.com/p/BeeYW0NA1HU/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=embed_ufi_control)

He started of selling 50,000 baseball hats for $20 each as a fundraiser and as
the Guardian put it:

>Musk, who had earlier, presumably in jest, promised to start selling company-
branded flamethrowers once 50,000 hats were purchased, tweeted: “Hats sold
out, flamethrowers soon!”
[https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2017/dec/31/elon-
musk...](https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2017/dec/31/elon-musk-tesla-
founder-mines-rich-marketing-seam-selling-boring-hats)

------
IntronExon
A comment from Task & Purpose

 _I debuk the flamethrower. . it 's just a Push-Start Propane Blow Torch
(Short) 50$ from Amazon monted in the poor gun S.T.A.R. XR-5 Airsoft vaut 112$
start piezo button is inverted and actionned in the hole with finger . you can
see the propane walve button on top of the gun , and the Trigger is huts the
original Blow Torch curved and cut and you have a propane torch able to burn
grass in your garden .. (with the propane bottle attached outside)

the torch

[https://www.amazon.com/Push-Start-Propane-Blow-Torch-
Long/dp...](https://www.amazon.com/Push-Start-Propane-Blow-Torch-
Long/dp/B076QGV1PY?th=1*)

-Eric Descarpentri

~~~
Johnny555
I don't see how that debunks it -- seems like that legitimizes that it is an
actual working flame thrower.

The video makes it quite clear what it is -- no one should be expecting a 50
foot range military flamethrower.

~~~
IntronExon
A flamethrower is a device which pressurizes a flammable liquid or gel, which
is ignited and projected at range. This is not such a device, it’s just a
propane torch with a toy gun case. You might as well call a lighter with the
valve wide open a flamethrower. History of the flamethrower:
[http://www.firstworldwar.com/weaponry/flamethrowers.htm](http://www.firstworldwar.com/weaponry/flamethrowers.htm)

~~~
Johnny555
Where is it defined that a flamethrower needs to use a liquid or gel?

Wikipedia says:

 _A flamethrower is a mechanical incendiary device designed to project a long,
controllable stream of fire. They were first used by the Greeks in the 1st
century AD...Some flamethrowers project a stream of ignited flammable liquid
while some project a long gas flame._

------
IgorPartola
I feel like this is an inside joke that I am not in on. Can someone explain?

~~~
Cognitron
It's another Spaceballs reference. Like ludicrous speed and the model s
ludicrous mode.

------
jpindar
Elon just tweeted that when the zombie apocalypse (which he is definitely not
creating to generate demand for flame throwers) comes, you'll be glad you
bought one.

------
CaliforniaKarl
I'm kindof surprised that you don't get a discount for buying a flamethrower
and a fire extinguisher in the same transaction.

~~~
vanderZwan
> _Buy an overpriced Boring Company fire extinguisher! You can definitely buy
> one for less elsewhere, but this one comes with a cool sticker and the
> button is conveniently riiight above._

They lampshaded that

------
minimaxir
It's presented as a gag item, but has a legitimate Shopify checkout. (and
apparently a $100 price cut from the leak)

~~~
scboffspring
Has someone tried to go through the checkout process? What happens at the end?

~~~
minimaxir
Apparently preorders are going through:
[https://twitter.com/alharding/status/957415346771652608](https://twitter.com/alharding/status/957415346771652608)

------
cyberferret
I think I will wait for the inevitable mashup between Musk's companies. When
Boring Co. and Space X bring out their surface to air anti aircraft missile,
then I will open my wallet...

But it will have to be a missile that can come back and land itself if it
misses the intended target.

~~~
mirimir
Well, there used to be a website about an open-source cruise missile. But I'm
not finding it now :(

~~~
boznz
[http://www.interestingprojects.com/cruisemissile/](http://www.interestingprojects.com/cruisemissile/)

~~~
mirimir
Yes, this is it. Thanks. Now he's selling the content. But hey, why not?

------
dbcurtis
"World's Safest Flamethrower"

Where is the fun in that?

~~~
dreta
You could say it's quite boring.

------
mirimir
Less safe: Take one of these ...

[https://www.amazon.com/Indian-Galvanized-Fire-
Smith-5-Gallon...](https://www.amazon.com/Indian-Galvanized-Fire-
Smith-5-Gallon/dp/B004DKE8RE)

... filled with lighter fluid, plus one of these ...

[https://www.amazon.com/Flexible-Lighters-bernzomatic-
flexibl...](https://www.amazon.com/Flexible-Lighters-bernzomatic-flexible-
lighter/dp/B00VJ3C0N2) ...

and some duct tape.

Got that from William S. Burroughs' _The Wild Boys_.

------
mankash666
You'd expect coders to be a logical bunch. But they flock like sheep behind
their idols. A Musk branded flamethrower that's 3X the cost of a similar
competitor is #1 on HN.

~~~
jaimex2
Its all good fun, people like jokes and references to things.

Coders are logical but theyre not robots. My companys desks are full of
overpriced merchandise from memes and movies.

Also there's nothing else more interesting on HN today.

------
tedmiston
So what does a flamethrower have to do with boring tunnels...?

~~~
kowdermeister
Comes handy when you have to fight demons you unleash.

------
aricthered
Can anybody tell me what were to get the valve between the tank and the hose?

------
nathanvanfleet
Unleashed in April, as in April 1st? This whole April fools jokes thing in the
tech world is getting a bit crazy if the joke is pre-announced three months
before.

------
tbodt
...he wasn't joking.

------
gerdesj
500 knicker for a flame thrower and 30 for a fire extinguisher.

LOL, ROFL, etc

If you are going to do silly then sort your bloody web site out. FAQ starts
with this: "To solve the problem of soul-destroying traffic, roads must go
3D..."

.. which is so boring ...

------
aurizon
This will certainly liven up parties and gang fracases

------
jaimex2
Up next:

Tesla coil security systems?

------
sneak
the world’s most lovable defense contractor!

------
pantalaimon
Not so boring after all!

------
DaniFong
This is so great <*3

------
yeukhon
This sbumission has turned into a Reddit sub commentary. Anyway.... I will
start a competition: very boring famerthrowawayer. Please let me know in the
comment section. I will sell the product for free (except you pay for
shipping).

