Elon Musk has disrupted several industries, including electric cars, solar panels, battery manufacturing, and space launch systems. On Saturday he introduced a flamethrower, and I can’t help but wonder what the significance of this venture will be, or why he was motivated to do this.
In the Instagram video below, he explains that “It is good for roasting nuts”.
Great for roasting nuts ? ?
The flame appears to be burning gas, rather than a liquid like diesel fuel, kerosene, or gasoline (or a mixture of liquids). The cylinder on top looks like a 14-ounce propane tank.
In a Tweet, he said the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms allows flamethrowers with a flame less than 10 feet.
ATF says any flamethrower with a flame shorter than 10 ft is A-ok. Our design is max fun for least danger. I’d be way more scared of a steak knife.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) January 28, 2018
The rumor that I’m secretly creating a zombie apocalypse to generate demand for flamethrowers is completely false
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) January 28, 2018
Unless you like fun
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) January 28, 2018
It should start shipping “in the Spring” at a price of $500. Sunday Mr. Musk said there have been 7,000 pre-orders for the 20,000 that are being manufactured. It is sold by the “Boring Company”, an organization Mr. Musk created to construct tunnels under cities to transport cars at 150 mph, avoiding heavy traffic on the surface.
We don’t know if the flamethrower is real, but people thought Mr. Musk was joking when he first proposed the tunnels. They thought the same thing when he said he was going to put his new personal Tesla Roadster on the first test launch of their Falcon Heavy rocket as a demonstration payload. It is typical on test launches of new rockets to put a dummy weighted payload in the cargo bay, but it is usually something fairly worthless like scrap steel. Not a new sports car (playing David Bowie’s Space Oddity) that according to Mr. Musk can accelerate to 60 mph in 1.9 seconds and has a top end of 250 mph.
Payload will be my midnight cherry Tesla Roadster playing Space Oddity. Destination is Mars orbit. Will be in deep space for a billion years or so if it doesn’t blow up on ascent.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) December 2, 2017
But getting back to the flamethrower… do you think it will be practical on prescribed fires or wildland fire firing operations, burning out and backfiring?
In this next video, Mr. Musk seems to like the flamethrower.
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.
