Mark Harris has put together an amazing report for TechCrunch on the legal troubles that have befallen buyers of the Boring Company’s flame-throwing device. Part of what makes it worth a read is that it digs up stories you may have not heard about yet: a police raid in London, an American doing time in an Italian prison, and how they’ve turned up in narcotics hauls alongside real guns and bags of cocaine.
While the Not a Flamethrower name may actually be accurate, the story shows that when police the world over see you with a gun-shaped device, especially one that shoots flames, they may not join you in laughing about Elon’s zany project ideas. They may just end up arresting you.
The biggest “what the heck” moment of the story for me was when a lawyer says of the Not a Flamethrower: “It’s a toy they sell to children.” Please, if you were one of the people who got this device — do not give it to a child.
While the product may be Boring, the article certainly is not, and you should definitely go give it a read. I promise you won’t get burned.