Elon Musk Rebrands Sold-Out Flamethrower After Customs Backlash

Elon Musk’s Boring Company recently sold 20,000 of its flamethrowers, but the company has now rebranded its product after problems with customs agencies, the CEO announced on Twitter.

The flamethrower was sold out on Thursday, just a few days after it was made available for pre-orders. The pre-order button on the site was changed to “Flamethrower Sales Are Now Complete” and "20k Flamethrowers Sold.” The Boring Company says on its website that the $500 flamethrower is “Guaranteed to liven up any party” and that it’s the “World's safest flamethrower!”

While the flamethrower has been ordered by many, it has also received attention from customs agencies. Musk said in a tweet that he was rebranding the flamethrower to “Not a Flamethrower” instead to avoid concerns.

“Apparently, some customs agencies are saying they won’t allow shipment of anything called a 'Flamethrower,'” said Musk on Twitter. “To solve this, we are renaming it “Not a Flamethrower.”

He later added: “Or maybe “Temperature Enhancement Device.”

The Boring Company’s webpage now displays “Not a Flamethrower” instead of flamethrower:

His tweets come after California Assemblyman Miguel Santiago (D-Los Angeles) strongly objected against the flamethrower recently.

“If this is a joke, then it’s a terribly insensitive one given that we’re coming off of the worst wildfire season in history,” Santiago said in a tweet.

Santiago continued in a press release: “We don’t allow people to walk in off the street and purchase military-grade tanks or armor-piercing ammunition. I cannot even begin to image the problems a flamethrower would cause firefighters and police officers alike.”

Meanwhile, Musk said in a tweet that his newest product does not meet the ATF’s definition of an illegal flamethrower.

Musk said on Thursday when it announced the flamethrowers were sold out that it would also come with a complimentary fire extinguisher. The company was previously selling extinguishers with the flamethrowers.

“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 riiiight above,” the company says on its site.

It’s not clear what will happen with the ones that were already sold, but customers might be able to get their money back.

Shipping for the Not a Flamethrower will begin in the spring.