In a step away from his usual inventions that seem to be world-changing, Elon Musk released a flamethrower. This flamethrower was such a success that it sold out in under a week - all 20,000 of them. Musk is now, however, running into problems shipping the product.
To get around this issue, he's rebranding the flamethrower so he'll stop getting problems from customs agencies.
Not A Flamethrower
In a tweet, Musk announced that customs agencies were giving him problems for the flamethrower. The device is a departure from Musk's usual revolutionary ideas - electric cars, space rockets, and trains. Shipping something that can be considered a weapon will be difficult for Musk.
In order to get them out to the customers who bought the flamethrowers, Musk is considering rebranding them. One of his first ideas was to change the name of the flamethrower to "Not A Flamethrower."
"Apparently, some customs agencies are saying they won't allow shipment of anything called a 'Flamethrower'. To solve this, we are renaming it 'Not a Flamethrower,'" said Musk in a tweet on Friday. "Or maybe 'Temperature Enhancement Device'," Musk added in a follow-up tweet.
On the listing for the flamethrower, the name of the flamethrower was changed by adding a "not a" to the name. Musk proclaimed the problem solved.
Musk sold the flamethrower through his tunneling venture called The Boring Company. A fire extinguisher was also advertised on the page for the flamethrower, it also sold out just like the flamethrower. 20,000 flamethrowers were sold for $500.
Musk initially advertised the flamethrower by going on his Instagram and using reverse psychology on his customer base.
"Don't do this. Also, I want to be clear that a flamethrower is a super terrible idea. Definitely, don't buy one. Unless you like fun," said Musk on Instagram.
Not Everyone Is Happy
Even though the flamethrower seems like a publicity stunt, not everyone is happy with Musk's decision to sell it. California Assemblyman Miguel Santiago is outraged with Musk. Santiago put out a statement condemning the product.
He states that even though Elon Musk is helping out California with infrastructure needs this change in lanes is not a welcome one.
"This subject matter, in the wake of the state's deadliest wildfires in history, is incredibly insensitive, dangerous, and most definitely not funny. Absolutely no public good could come from the sale of this tool," said Santiago in the statement.
In the same statement, Santiago announced that he would be introducing to legislation to ban the sale of the flamethrower.
