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Boring flame-thrower party heats up Elon Musk fans

Flame-throwers are being sold to raise US$10 million for Boring, a tunnel-digging company that’s working on Hyperloop project

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An attendee operates a Boring Co. flame-thrower to toast a marshmallow during the company's Not-a-Flame-thrower Party. Photo: Bloomberg

Not much got in the way of Elon Musk fans determined to win bragging rights for picking up one of the first 1,000 flame-throwers sold by the billionaire’s Boring Co.

Dennis Dohrman hopped in his truck and drove 2,620 miles from North Carolina to Boring headquarters in Hawthorne, California. Dan Thorman cut short a business trip to Singapore and came straight to Saturday’s event from Los Angeles International Airport. George Matus brought along his parents and younger brother on a 10-hour road trip.

“Imagine if you had the opportunity to get a kite and a key from Benjamin Franklin,” said Dohrman, 45, an environmental scientist who drove 39 hours from Hampstead, North Carolina, referencing the Revolutionary War-era inventor and statesman.

Dohrman snagged the first spot in line on Saturday to collect one of the flame-throwers sold to raise US$10 million for Boring, a tunnel-digging company that’s working on a futuristic type of train-like transport known as Hyperloop.

The company is working on a test tunnel in Hawthorne, has permission to work on another tunnel in Maryland, and is bidding on a project in Chicago. A usable tunnel that connects transport hubs is probably years away.

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