---
title: "Police Just Seized Another Elon Musk Flamethrower During a Drug Bust"
description: "Canadian police seized a Boring Company \"Not-a-Flamethrower\" during a drug bust, despite the weapon perhaps being technically legal."
date: "2021-03-10"
modified: "2021-03-10"
authors:
  - name: "Dan Robitzski"
    link: "https://futurism.com/authors/danrobitzski"
url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/police-seized-elon-musk-flamethrower-drug-bust"
categories:
  - "Elon Musk"
  - "Future Society"
  - "The Industrialists"
tags:
  - "boring company"
  - "elon musk"
  - "not-a-flamethrower"
  - "the digest"
---

# Police Just Seized Another Elon Musk Flamethrower During a Drug Bust

![Canadian police seized a Boring Company "Not-a-Flamethrower" during a drug bust, despite the weapon perhaps being technically legal.](<https://futurism.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/guns.jpg>)
*\<em\>Image: London Police / @lpsmediaoffice via Twitter / Futurism\</em\>*

## Hot Water

Police in London, Ontario seized a flamethrower made by an Elon Musk-led company during a drug bust on Tuesday, once again raising the question of whether or not the unusual devices are technically illegal weapons.

The [cheekily-named Not-a-Flamethrower](<https://futurism.com/elon-musk-flamethrowers-dumb>), a promotional item developed and sold by Elon Musk's tunnel-digging Boring Company, has languished in a legal gray area since its 2018 release. But those debates over technical legality and loopholes within the definitions of firearms don't seem to matter much, [as *Teslarati* reports](<https://www.teslarati.com/elon-musk-boring-company-flamethrower-drug-bust-video/>) — the cops charged the device's owners all the same.

https://twitter.com/lpsmediaoffice/status/1369332738348773378

## Endless Technicalities

Anyone who's seen a Not-a-Flamethrower in action knows that its name holds up. It functions more like an unusually powerful lighter than an actual weapon, and its little torch certainly [pales in comparison](<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nuIVE7rh8zs>) to an actual flamethrower's powerful stream of fire.

But the device, weapon, weapon-like device — whatever you want to call it — pops up in crime reports with [unsurprising regularity](<https://techcrunch.com/2021/01/19/elon-musk-said-it-was-not-a-flamethrower/?tpcc=ECTW2020>). For example, an American [was arrested](<https://futurism.com/the-byte/sentence-elon-musk-flamethrower>) for wielding one in Italy, and Massachusetts cops seized one [during a traffic stop](<https://futurism.com/the-byte/police-seize-elon-musk-flamethrower-during-traffic-stop>).

## Defense Rests

The Not-a-Flamethrower is already banned in some places, including New York State, but *Teslarati* argues that the device may technically be legal in Canada and that the Ontario police may have erred.

The argument relies on the fact that the device doesn't actually fire a projectile, which is one of the key components of Canada's definition of a prohibited firearm. The Ontario police listed the Not-a-Flamethrower as an actual flamethrower, so there's a chance some of the charges end up being dropped.

Charges for the cocaine, cash, assault rifle and assorted paraphernalia, though? Those may stick.

**READ MORE:** [The Boring Company’s ‘Not-a-Flamethrower’ seized in drug bust](<https://www.teslarati.com/elon-musk-boring-company-flamethrower-drug-bust-video/>) \[*Teslarati*\]

**More on the "Not-a-Flamethrower":** *[Elon Musk’s Flamethrowers are Here, And, Yes, People Are Already Using Them in Dumb Ways](<https://futurism.com/elon-musk-flamethrowers-dumb>)*

## Author
Dan Robitzki is a senior reporter for Futurism, where he likes to cover AI, tech ethics, and medicine. He spends his extra time fencing and streaming games from Los Angeles, California.

### Author social links  
[Twitter](<https://x.com/danrobitzski>)