--- title: "Police Seize Elon Musk Flamethrower During Traffic Stop" description: "Police in Massachusetts say they seized one of the Boring Company's Elon Musk flamethrowers during a routine traffic stop." date: "2020-06-08" modified: "2020-06-08" authors: - name: "Jon Christian" job_title: "Executive Editor" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/jonc" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/police-seize-elon-musk-flamethrower-during-traffic-stop" categories: - "Elon Musk" - "Future Society" - "The Industrialists" tags: - "boring company" - "elon musk" - "flamethrowers" - "the digest" --- # Police Seize Elon Musk Flamethrower During Traffic Stop ![Police in Massachusetts say they seized one of the Boring Company's Elon Musk flamethrowers during a routine traffic stop.]() *\Image: Springfield Police\* ## Flame War Remember when Elon Musk released special edition flamethrowers through his Boring Company outfit? Well, the street finds new uses for things — and now police in Massachusetts [say they seized]() one of the Boring Company flamethrowers during a routine traffic stop. https://twitter.com/PIO_SPD/status/1270017328252583937 ## Bear Arms Springfield Police say they found the weapon during a traffic stop early on Sunday morning. They say the pulled the car over when they saw a passenger standing up and recording video through the open sunroof, and that the vehicle didn't have an up-to-date inspection sticker. The cops say they saw what appeared to be a firearm under the front passenger seat, but that on closer inspection it was a flamethrower that a passenger in the car said belonged to him. They also say they found three canisters of fuel, and charged the owner with carrying a dangerous weapon with an active warrant and, amazingly, "possession of an infernal machine." ## Boring Job Musk raised eyebrows in 2018, when his Boring Company venture [quickly sold out]() 20,000 of its $500 "Not a Flamethrower" units — which, contrary to the tongue-in-cheek name, are actually functional flamethrowers. This isn't the first time the devices have popped up in unexpected places. Not long after the devices shipped, CNN [spotted some of the weapons]() for sale on eBay. **READ MORE:** [Springfield Police Arrest Man For Possession Of Flamethrower]() \[*CBS Boston*\] **More on flamethrowers:** *[Get Ready: “Flamethrower Drones” Are About to Go on Sale]()* ## Author I'm responsible for editing, assigning, and scouting at Futurism, as well as occasionally writing for the site. That work involves keeping an eye on a wide range of narratives and issues, but over the past few years I've become increasingly interested in how AI is shaping the future of media, the web, and information itself. My day-to-day often involves collaborating on reporting and commentary projects bylined by my colleagues, but I try to find time to do my own reporting as well; stories I've broken for Futurism have been cited by publications including the New York Times, the Washington Post, the New Yorker, Wired, Ars Technica, New York Magazine, the Columbia Journalism Review, Bloomberg, and more. I grew up in Southern Vermont and attended Vanderbilt University. Prior to Futurism, I contributed to outlets including the Boston Globe, Vice, Wired, Slate, the Atlantic, the Outline, Ars Technica and more, and did stints in farming and food service. I currently live in Brooklyn, New York, and in my free time I enjoy pinball, word games, cycling, running, and music production. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()