Skip to main content
  1. Home
  2. Emerging Tech
  3. News

Elon Musk’s Boring Company puts first 1,000 flamethrowers in buyers’ hands

By
The Boring Company Flamethrower

Consumer flamethrowers and rockets on cars? Sure, right? Never happen. Fact is, Tesla CEO Elon Musk promised both and this weekend he delivered on his promised personal flamethrowers.

Recommended Videos

To be more specific, Musk’s The Boring Company delivered the first 1,000 of a limited run of 20,000 TBC Flamethrowers to customers this weekend. On that basis, who’s to say the next-generation Tesla Roadster won’t have a SpaceX option package with 10 rocket thrusters, as Musk claimed Saturday?

Related: 
Best new movies to stream on Netflix, Hulu, Prime Video, Max (HBO), and more

Choosing one of his favorite communications forums, Musk took to Twitter to post some photos of the flamethrower customer pickup event, accompanying his tweets with enthusiastic comments.

Musk’s Twitter thread started with a straight announcement, “First 1000 Boring Company Flamethrowers being picked up today!”

First 1000 Boring Company Flamethrowers being picked up today! pic.twitter.com/hBMp5fGzAB

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) June 9, 2018

Musk later posted a photo of a couple with a baby carriage and a flamethrower standing in front of a Boring Company photo shoot backdrop in a parking lot. “Nothing makes your baby more zen than a few gentle puffs of a TBC Flamethrower,” Musk tweeted.

Nothing makes your baby more zen than a few gentle puffs of a TBC Flamethrower pic.twitter.com/HewJf66hh2

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) June 9, 2018

Still on a roll, Musk followed up with a suggested application for the flamethrower: lighting BBQs and home fireplaces. This suggestion probably should have a “Kids, do not try this at home” caution, because you know that’s what people will do.

Musk tweeted “Flamethrower obv best way to light your fireplace/BBQ. No more need to use a dainty “match” to ignite! If no wood, just drop your flamethrower in fire place! It will generate way more warmth than a quaint pile of logs.”

Flamethrower obv best way to light your fireplace/BBQ. No more need to use a dainty “match” to ignite! If no wood, just drop your flamethrower in fire place! It will generate way more warmth than a quaint pile of logs.

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) June 9, 2018

Twitter user @SPPhotonic mentioned California fire hazards, “Did Nobody tell you that fire Hazards in California are not a joke? Have some respect for the Firefighters and make an Ice Blaster.”

Did Nobody tell you that fire Hazards in California are not a joke? 🔥🔥🔥 Have some respect for the Firefighters and make an Ice Blaster❄️❄️❄️

— spphotonic.com 🇺🇸🚀⚡️❄️ (@SPPhotonic) June 9, 2018

In response to @SPPhotonic, Musk may have revealed an upcoming new TBC product when he tweeted, “Each flamethrower comes with a state-of-the-art The Boring Company brand fire extinguisher. Will offer a TBC ice blaster before the dry season starts in winter.”

Each flamethrower comes with a state-of-the-art The Boring Company brand fire extinguisher.

Will offer a TBC ice blaster before the dry season starts in winter.

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) June 9, 2018

The 20,000 TBC Flamethrowers sold out quickly for $500 each. If TBC actually does plan to offer an ice blaster and expects it to be useful when the “winter dry season” begins, the news should come soon. Musk first announced TBC Flamethrower in January and the first deliveries took almost five months.

The 2020 Tesla Roadster with the SpaceX option package won’t see light before 2019, so we’ll have to wait longer to see if Musk really meant it when he promised rocket thrusters.

Bruce Brown
Bruce Brown
Contributing Editor
Bruce Brown Contributing Editor   As a Contributing Editor to the Auto teams at Digital Trends and TheManual.com, Bruce…
Topics

Editors’ Recommendations

The Ioniq 5 is once again eligible for the $7,500 tax credit
2025 Hyundai Ioniq 5

After a brief and confusing absence, the Hyundai Ioniq 5 is once again eligible for the full $7,500 federal tax credit — and this time, it's sticking around (at least for now). So, what happened? Let’s unpack the ride.

The Ioniq 5, a sleek and tech-savvy electric crossover, initially made headlines not just for its design, but for being built at Hyundai’s brand-new Metaplant in Georgia. That domestic assembly qualified it for the EV tax credit under the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), which requires vehicles to be made in North America with batteries sourced from trade-friendly countries. But early in 2025, the Ioniq 5 vanished from the list. Why? Likely due to its battery packs, which were then still being sourced from SK On’s Hungarian facility.

Read more
Sebastian Stan lays out Bucky’s future after Thunderbolts
Sebastian Stan in Thunderbolts.

There are some spoilers ahead for the ending of Marvel's Thunderbolts. Stop reading now if you don't want to be spoiled.

Earlier this year, Captain America: Brave New World briefly introduced a new direction for James "Bucky" Barnes, a character Sebastian Stan has been playing since 2011 in Captain America: The First Avenger. In Brave New World, the former Winter Soldier apparently retired from being a reformed hero and went into politics by running for Congress. Thunderbolts reveals that Bucky won his election to the House of Representatives. But his stay in Congress was short.

Read more
Jeep Compass EV breaks cover—but will it come to the U.S.?
jeep compass ev us newjeepcompassfirsteditionhawaii 4

Jeep just pulled the wraps off the all-new Compass EV, and while it’s an exciting leap into the electric future, there's a catch—it might not make it to the U.S. anytime soon.
This is a brand new electric version of the Jeep Compass, and being built on Stellantis' STLA platform—the same architecture underpinning models like the Peugeot E-3008 and E-5008—it looks much slicker and packs a lot more inside than previous versions of the Compass.
Let’s start with what’s cool: the new Compass EV is packing up to 404 miles of range on a single charge, a 74 kWh battery, and fast-charging that gets you from 20% to 80% in about 30 minutes. Not bad for a compact SUV with Jeep's badge on the nose.
There are two versions: a front-wheel-drive model with 213 horsepower and a beefier all-wheel-drive version with 375 horsepower. That AWD setup isn’t just for looks—it can handle 20% inclines even without front traction, and comes with extra ground clearance and better off-road angles. In short, it’s still a Jeep.
The design's been refreshed too, and inside you’ll find the kind of tech and comfort you’d expect in a modern EV—sleek, smart, and ready for both city streets and dirt trails.
But here’s the thing: even though production starts soon in Italy, Jeep hasn’t said whether the Compass EV is coming to America. And the signs aren’t promising.
Plans to build it in Canada were recently put on hold, with production now delayed until at least early 2026. Some of that might have to do with possible U.S. tariffs on Canadian and Mexican vehicles—adding a layer of uncertainty to the whole rollout.
According to Kelley Blue Book, a Stellantis spokesperson confirmed that the company has “temporarily paused work on the next-generation Jeep Compass, including activities at” the Canadian plant that was originally meant to build the model. They added that Stellantis is “reassessing its product strategy in North America” to better match customer needs and demand for different powertrain options.
So while Europe and other markets are gearing up to get the Compass EV soon, American drivers might be left waiting—or miss out entirely.
That’s a shame, because on paper, this electric Jeep hits a lot of sweet spots. Let’s just hope it finds a way over here.

Read more