Elon Musk sells $3.5m worth of flamethrowers that appear to have been created as a joke

The device 'is sentient, its safe word is "cryptocurrency" and it comes with a free blockchain', the Tesla CEO tweeted

Elon Musk, Chairman of SolarCity and CEO of Tesla Motors, speaks at SolarCity's Inside Energy Summit in Manhattan, New York October 2, 2015 (Reuters)

Elon Musk has sold more than $3m worth of flamethrowers, just hours after announcing their existence.

The Tesla CEO, who appears to have created the $500 devices for his own amusement, only put them up for pre-order on Sunday.

People have already bought at least 7,000 of them, which adds up to sales of $3.5m.

It was created after Musk joked in December that he would start selling flamethrowers if his tunnel construction firm – playfully named The Boring Company – managed to sell 50,000 branded hats.

“After 50k hats, we will start selling The Boring Company flamethrower,” he tweeted at the time. “I know it’s a little off-brand, but kids love it.”

The flamethrowers went on sale on Sunday, and Musk has been announcing sales figures on Twitter.

He has also lightheartedly described the handset as being “great for roasting nuts” and “guaranteed to liven up any party”.

“The rumor that I’m secretly creating a zombie apocalypse to generate demand for flamethrowers is completely false,” he tweeted.

“You’d need millions of zombies for a so-called ‘apocalypse’ anyway. Where would I even get a factory big enough to make so many!?”

He later added: “But wait, there’s more: the flamethrower is sentient, its safe word is ‘cryptocurrency’ and it comes with a free blockchain”.

On a slightly more serious note, Musk also said: “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.”

The flamethrower is available from The Boring Company’s website, and starts at $500. An “overpriced” fire extinguisher is also listed on the site for $30.

They will start shipping in spring, according to the website.

Elon Musk has added a link to the flamethrower product page on both his Twitter and Instagram bio sections. He has also added ”Don’t buy this flamethrower” to the section on Instagram.

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