At last count, Elon Musk's The Boring Company had an estimated $4 million in pre-orders for its Flamethrower, with roughly 20 000 units available at $500 a pop (excluding tax). For residents in California, however, it may be extremely difficult to get their hands on this ridiculous and fun gadget, as California assemblyman Miguel Santiago aims to introduce legislation that prohibits the Boring Company from selling to the public.

This according to a report from Liam Dillion of the Los Angeles Times. Musk has responded to claims that the Flamethrower is illegal, taking to Twitter to mention that the device does not meet the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives’ definition of an illegal flamethrower. The Boring Company notes that its device does not emit a flame larger than 10 feet (3.048 metres), which falls within the given guidelines.

ATF says any flamethrower with a flame shorter than 10 ft is A-ok. Our design is max fun for least danger. I’d be way more scared of a steak knife.

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) January 28, 2018

Before we label Miguel Santiago a wet blanket, he does make a worthwhile argument, citing the fact that California has just come out of one of its worst wildfire seasons in history. As such, having a bunch of people freely wielding flamethrowers may not be the best idea. While we'd like to think people will be responsible with these devices, one need only look at challenge memes like the recent Tide Pod one to see that common sense is not always that common.

Whether Santiago is successful in his ban remains to be seen, but it should prove interesting to see if any of the other 49 states in the US will follow suit.