The Boring Company: Elon Musk sells $10m worth of flamethrowers in four days

Tesla and SpaceX chief Elon Musk has sold $10m (£7m) worth of “novelty” flamethrowers, just four days after the product went on sale, Reuters reports.

The South African-born billionaire confirmed on Thursday that all 20,000 examples of the $500 (£350) product have now been snapped up, with deliveries expected in the spring.

He said via his Twitter account that every flamethrower would come with a “complimentary” fire extinguisher and a plaque with the product’s serial number, ranging from one to 20,000.

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Earlier, Musk joked that a flamethrower was a “super terrible idea” and you shouldn’t buy one “unless you like fun”.

The flamethrower is the second product released by Musk to promote his new tunnelling firm, the Boring Company.

Last December, the billionaire opened orders for a limited-edition Boring Company-branded cap, Reuters says. Second-hand, these are much in demand.

Sales of the flamethrower were not without controversy, The Guardian says. California-based democrat Miguel Santiago tried to block the tunnelling firm from selling the product.

The Daily Telegraph says the Home Office classes flamethrowers as an offensive weapon. As such, they are prohibited from entering the UK without the secretary of state’s permission.

A Boring Company spokesperson told Cnet that the flamethrower was “safer than what you can buy right now off-the-shelf on Amazon to destroy weeds.”

“Much like a rollercoaster, this is designed to be thrilling without danger,” the spokesperson said.