Tesla's Musk sells $10M in flamethrowers in four days | Hacker News Reader

Tesla's Musk sells $10M in flamethrowers in four days

reuters.com

28 pointsrwx------22 comments

That Elon Musk can sell $10M worth of something as silly as flamethrowers, should be a sign of worry for car manufacturers. The cult surrounding Elon Musk is second to none in the auto world. Which car manufacturer could sell useless merchandise branded with the name of what is really just an experimental side project run by a sister company, not even the brand of the auto company itself?

Tesla investors should worry about stunts like these. Each time Musk sells nonsense products like these he trades brand equity for money. To be explicit, these flamethrowers diminish the value of Tesla.

This isn't even Tesla. It's the Boring Company. Tesla investors shouldn't care about other companies. Maybe do some research before posting.

There is another way to look at it.

How much of the Tesla valuation is due to Musk? 20, 30, 50, 90%?

Each stunt like this makes which ever percentage that is a bit bigger.

What happens if or more like when Musk retires from Tesla to focus on SpaceX or another company? He’s running effectively 4 companies atm Tesla, SolarCity, SpaceX and the Boring Company eventually he could want or will have to focus on fewer ventures.

Tesla is effectively the only public traded company if he leaves the stock can tank and tank to the point where it would put them in serious trouble.

It would never have occurred to me to buy a flamethrower, but I would have thought they’d be much more expensive than $500.

I don’t think it reduces Musk’s brand. It’s tech, they’re fun (no one is buying these for a practical purpose) and they look like they’re from a video game. It’s a luxury hardware gadget.

As long as they work, that is. He needs to be careful he doesn’t develop a persona of overpromising and being unable to meet commitments.

Ah, the good ol' Spaceballs Merchandising technique. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fgRFQJCHcPw

Musk tweeted about that [0].

edit: I'd forgotten that there's a flamethrower at the end of the clip. That YouTube clip you posted is broken for me.

[0]: https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/937447589460426752

People will buy any thing if it is endorsed/sold by celebrities.

The real news is at 1:15. I don't know if he planned this, but if I was in Musk's shoes I'd create a fake flamethrower-rights movement just to ridicule those who would like to ban them so fast even before they could be accounted for a single fire or injured person, while doing nothing about guns.

And Kylie Jenner sold over $250 million worth of makeup last year. Celebrity sells, what’s new about this?

I realise that this is a marketing stunt, but potentially this could have a serious impact on the Boring Company. A flamethrower is a weapon, even if it's a 'toy' like Elon's flamethrower. This means the Boring Company is probably in violation of any open source license that prohibits use in evil applications - for example, the JSON license (http://www.json.org/license.html). I'm pretty sure that there's a bunch of other OSS licenses that prohibit their use in military applications too.

I don't seriously imagine for a second that anything will actually happen as a result of this. It's just fun to think about.

Interesting, though presumably as long as the flamethrower itself doesn't use the json library, they're clear. Though I now imagine a licence that blocks use by any company that manufactures or distribute weapons, for example. Or is in the coal industry. Is 'licence activism' a thing? Could it be?

It is a thing (most memorably a piece of software which is freeware normally, but you must make a donation if you air travel over a certain amount year), but it's rare. Most definitions of Open Source and Free Software do not include licenses with such restrictions (a core freedom being being able to do whatever you want with the software).

No OSI of FSF approved license will contain such a clause:

* The freedom to run the program as you wish, for any purpose (freedom 0). (https://www.gnu.org/philosophy/free-sw.html.en)

* 6. No Discrimination Against Fields of Endeavor (https://opensource.org/osd)

Most popular licenses do not contain such a clause. The Json license is a rare exception and quite controversial.

I had to check, it's the 2 of February and not the 1st of April.

Shouldn't it read "Boring Company's Musk"?

I think in the name of decency the headline should reflect that this is about butane-powered novelty toy, not a defence contract.

To the surprise of everyone involved, I'm sure.

This is so weird.

    Musk! 

    He'll sting you with his dreams of power and wealth. 

    Beware of Musk! 

    His twisted twin obsessions are his plot to rule the world 
    And his employees' health. 

    He'll welcome you into his lair 

    Like the nobleman welcomes his guest 

    With free dental care and a stock plan that helps you invest! 

    But beware of his generous pensions 

    Plus three weeks paid vacation each year 

    And on Fridays, the lunchroom serves hot dogs and burgers and beer! 

    He loves German beer!

This is probably a controversial opinion, but there's are similar forces at play here with Musk's flamethrowers and Trump's MAGA hats.

'Celebrities' sell crap when they endorse it. What's new?

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