Elon Musk‘s Boring Company-branded flamethrowers may have sold out just four days after they went on sale, but that doesn’t mean fans still can’t get their hands on one.
Savvy consumers are reselling the ‘zombie-killing’ flamethrowers on eBay for thousands of dollars.
The flamethrowers originally cost $500 (£351), but some eBay listings price ‘brand new’ flamethrowers at upwards of $20,000 (£14,164).
None of the listings post actual photos of the flamethrower because the item won’t ship to buyers until April.
It became available for pre-order on the Boring Company website last week.
Scroll down for videos
Boring Company flamethrowers sold out within four days of going on sale, but some users are reselling theirs on eBay for as much as $20,000 — a huge premium from the $500 price tag
In total, Elon Musk’s tunneling company has sold 20,000 flamethrowers and raised $10 million in the process.
As of Friday, there were 27 listings for a Boring Company flamethrower.
Most were priced in the $1,000 to $2,000 range.
Musk’s other merchandise is also available on eBay, with many reselling their Boring Company hats at a premium to the merch’s initial $20 price tag.
One user even dared to charge $44,000 for their used Boring Company hat.
The Boring Company sold an astonishing 30,000 hats, raking in a total of $600,000, since the item first went on sale in October.
When the flamethrowers went on sale, Musk tweeted updates nearly every few minutes or so.
Pictured, eBay listings have popped up on the site advertising used Boring Company flamethrowers. Users are also reselling their Boring Company hats, which are sold out
‘When the zombie apocalypse happens, you’ll be glad you bought a flamethrower,’ he tweeted last Saturday.
‘Works against hordes of the undead or your money back!’
The Boring Company also offered a $30 (£21) fire extinguisher, which quickly sold out.
Some where selling ‘combo packs’ of the Boring Company flamethrowers and extinguishers on eBay.
Musk said in a tweet on Thursday that each of the flamethrowers would be individually numbered.
Elon Musk tweeted on Thursday that each of the flamethrowers are individually numbered. The flamethrowers also come with a $30 (£21) fire extinguisher
Last month, the CEO of Tesla and SpaceX tweeted that the Boring Company would create the ‘safest flamethrower ever’ after selling 50,000 Boring Company hats.
Most people seemed to assume that he was joking.
‘I know it’s a little off-brand, but kids love it,’ Musk continued in a tweet.
Within hours of the flamethrower becoming available, orders flooded in by the thousands.
Musk also took to Instagram to post videos of him firing up one of the flamethrowers.
Another video showed two Boring Company employees trying out the Boring Company-branded weapons.
In a video on Instagram, two Boring Company employees are shown firing up the flamethrowers. Musk also posted a video of him trying out the weapon
While Musk faces some production troubles with Tesla, his electric car company, the Boring Company has made significant progress in the last several months.
On Monday, January 22, the Boring Company presented plans to build a 6.5-mile (10.5 km) shaft under Culver City, California, at a council meeting.
According to the plans, the privately-funded tunnel would carry cars on ‘electric skates’ at 150 miles per hour (240 kph) to help with LA’s ‘soul-destroying’ congestion.
The proposed route goes through West Los Angeles passing underneath Sepulveda Boulevard through Culver City.
WHAT IS ELON MUSK’S ‘BORING’ PLAN?
When Elon Musk first announced his plans to bore a tunnel to his SpaceX offices in Los Angeles, it was hard to know if he was simply venting his frustrations about being stuck in traffic.
‘Traffic is driving me nuts. Am going to build a tunnel boring machine and just start digging…’, he tweeted in December of 2016.
He ended his rant on the social media site with: ‘I am actually going to do this’.
The billionaire’s tunnel-digging firm ‘The Boring Company’ has presented its plans to build a 6.5-mile (10.5 km) shaft under Culver City, California, at a council meeting. Pictured is an image shared by Musk in October of the firm’s test tunnel in Los Angeles
The billionaire first tweeted a picture of his firm’s boring machine back in February 2017 with the caption ‘Minecraft’ – a reference to the popular video game in which players dig large tunnel networks for resources.
On Monday, January 22, 2018, the Boring Company presented plans to build the 6.5-mile (10.5 km) shaft under Culver City, California, at a council meeting.
According to the plans, the privately-funded tunnel would carry cars on ‘electric skates’ at 150 miles per hour (240 kph) to help with LA’s ‘soul-destroying’ congestion.
The proposed route goes through West Los Angeles passing underneath Sepulveda Boulevard through Culver City.
The tunnel could also make Hyperloop adoption viable.
Hyperloop is a proposed method of travel that would transport people at over 600 miles per hour (965.6 kilometers per hour) between distant locations.
Musk’s proposed first tunnel will run from LAX to Culver City, then to Santa Monica, and end in Westwood. Musk claims the tunnel trip will take five minutes, compared to 45 minutes driving in normal LA traffic
It was unveiled by Elon Musk in 2013, who at the time said it could take passengers the 380 miles (610km) from LA to San Francisco in 30 minutes – half the time it takes a plane.
It is essentially a long tube that has had the air removed to create a vacuum.
The tube is suspended off the ground to protect against weather and earthquakes.
In August of 2017, Elon Musk took to social media to share progress on his traffic-beating tunnel beneath Los Angeles, revealing it was big enough to fit a Tesla Model S
Here’s where the Boring Company’s current projects stand:
- Hawthorne: A test tunnel has been permitted and is under construction.
- Los Angeles: An excavation permit application has been submitted to the City of Los Angeles. The project would be a 6.5 mile (10.5 km) proof-of-process tunnel which would run within the City of Los Angeles and Culver City.
- East Coast: The Boring Company says its working with federal and state officials on a DC-to-Baltimore route which would then be extended to New York. The State of Maryland has granted permission for 10.1 miles of tunnel beneath the state-owned part of the Baltimore-Washington
- Chicago: The company says it’s responding to the RFQ released by the City of Chicago to compete to fund, build and operate a high-speed Loop connecting Chicago O’Hare Aiport to downtown.
Leave a Reply