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The Boring Co. is holding a Not-a-Flamethrower pickup party on June 9

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In an update on Saturday, Elon Musk announced that The Boring Company would be holding a Not-a-Flamethrower pickup party in Los Angeles on June 9.

During The Boring Company’s information session earlier this month, Elon Musk, together with SpaceX engineer Steve Davis, stated that the delivery and shipment of the Not-a-Flamethrowers were delayed since shipping items with propane proved to be complicated. Thus, according to Musk, the Boring Co. has come up with a solution to its shipping problems — the company will custom-deliver the Not-a-Flamethrowers to the homes of reservation holders.

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As it turns out, however, the Boring Company has an extra surprise before it starts delivering the fiery device. As could be seen in a recently shared screenshot of a correspondence from the tunneling startup (credit to u/Herbrax212 of the r/BoringCompany subreddit), a pick-up party for the first 1,000 Not-a-Flamethrowers would be held in Los Angeles on June 9. Following is an excerpt from the email that The Boring Company recently sent out to reservation holders.

Anyways… we are hosting a Not-a-Flamethrower pickup party in Los Angeles on June 9, 2018, from noon to 5 pm. Up to 1,000 customers can pick up their Not-a-Flamethrower, toast some marshmallows, take some fun pics, prep to take on a zombie horde, and (of course) receive a refund for their shipping charges. Only eligible customers who have signed the terms and conditions and have registered at www.boringcompany.com/pickup may attend. Don’t worry if you can’t make it; all Not-a-Flamethrowers will ship out this summer!

Where should we throw our next pick up party?

The Boring Company

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The Boring Company Not-a-Flamethrower started off as a joke from Elon Musk and yet another reference to Hollywood sci-fi flick Spaceballs. In a tweet last December, Musk stated that the tunneling startup would release a flamethrower after selling its 50,000th Boring Company hat. Sure enough, after the inventory of the hats were cleared out, signs of the Boring Company Flamethrower started emerging.

By January, musician D.A. Wallach shared a video of the fiery device on his Instagram page. Not long after that, Elon Musk officially launched the Flamethrower in the Boring Company’s website, selling the contraption for $500 each. All 20,000 Boring Company Flamethrowers were sold out within four days, raising $10 million for the tunneling startup.

The device, however, did not come without its detractors. California assemblyman Miguel Santiago (D-Los Angeles), for one, expressed his opposition to the device, citing its safety concerns. Customs agencies also stated that they would not ship anything that is branded as a flamethrower. In response to this, Musk opted to rebrand the fiery device, calling it a Not-a-Flamethrower.

While the Boring Company Not-a-Flamethrower looks like a powerful firestarter, the device is actually more akin to a propane torch fitted on what appears to be a modified airsoft rifle. Considering that the device can only shoot flames up to a few feet, the Not-a-Flamethrower is actually more similar to a Weed Dragon, which could be purchased in any hardware store, than an actual flamethrower such as the XM42-M, which can shoot flames up to 30 feet.

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Simon is an experienced automotive reporter with a passion for electric cars and clean energy. Fascinated by the world envisioned by Elon Musk, he hopes to make it to Mars (at least as a tourist) someday. For stories or tips--or even to just say a simple hello--send a message to his email, simon@teslarati.com or his handle on X, @ResidentSponge.

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Tesla expands global FSD (Supervised) testing with Abu Dhabi trials

The program marks the emirate’s first formal testing framework for Tesla’s supervised autonomous driving technology.

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Credit: Grok Imagine

Tesla has started its first Full Self-Driving (Supervised) road trials in Abu Dhabi under the oversight of the Integrated Transport Centre, also known as Abu Dhabi Mobility. 

The program marks the emirate’s first formal testing framework for Tesla’s supervised autonomous driving technology.

FSD (Supervised) road trials are being conducted with the support of the Smart and Autonomous Systems Council and in coordination with the Legislation Lab at the General Secretariat of the UAE Cabinet.

Dr. Abdulla Hamad AlGhfeli, Acting Director General of the Integrated Transport Centre (Abu Dhabi Mobility), highlighted the agency’s regulatory role in overseeing the FSD (Supervised) tests in a press release

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“The supervision of the Integrated Transport Centre (Abu Dhabi Mobility) over the commencement of Tesla’s advanced autonomous driving technology tests reflects its regulatory and legislative role. These tests represent a qualitative step to evaluate the technology’s performance in a real-world operating environment and to collect the necessary data to verify its readiness before any future expansion in usage.

“Through this organized framework, and in cooperation with strategic partners, we seek to achieve a balance between supporting innovation and encouraging the adoption of smart solutions on one hand and ensuring the safety of road users on the other, in line with the emirate’s direction to develop an advanced, safe, and sustainable transport system,” he said. 

Tesla is putting a lot of effort into expanding the rollout of FSD (Supervised) to territories outside in the United States. During a recent interview with Giga Berlin plant manager Andre Thierig, Musk stated that Tesla is looking to secure approval for FSD (Supervised) in the Netherlands this coming March. 

“Tesla has the most advanced real-world AI, and hopefully, it will be approved soon in Europe. We’re told by the authorities that March 20th, it’ll be approved in the Netherlands,’ what I was told. Hopefully, that date remains the same. But I think people in Europe are going to be pretty blown away by how good the Tesla car AI is in being able to drive,” Musk stated.

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SpaceX considering confidential IPO filing this March: report

The filing could pave the way for a June listing at a valuation that may exceed $1.75 trillion.

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Credit: SpaceX/X

SpaceX is reportedly preparing to confidentially file for an initial public offering (IPO) as soon as March. The filing could pave the way for a June listing at a valuation that may exceed $1.75 trillion, potentially making it the largest IPO in history.

The update was initially reported by Bloomberg News, which cited information shared by people reportedly familiar with the matter. 

As per the publication, a confidential filing allows a company to receive regulatory feedback before publicly releasing its financials. Bloomberg’s source, however, noted that the timing of SpaceX’s IPO is still under discussion and plans could change.

SpaceX did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

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A March submission would mark the clearest step yet toward bringing Elon Musk’s private space company into public markets. People familiar with the preparations said the offering could raise as much as $50 billion. That would surpass the $29 billion debut of Saudi Aramco in 2019, currently the largest IPO on record.

Major banks including Goldman Sachs Group Inc., JPMorgan Chase & Co., Morgan Stanley, and Bank of America Corp. are reportedly positioned for senior roles in the transaction. SpaceX is also said to be considering a dual-class structure that would allow insiders, including Musk, to retain enhanced voting control.

Satellite communications provider EchoStar Corp., which holds a stake in SpaceX, reportedly saw its shares rise following news of the potential filing.

At a valuation exceeding $1.75 trillion, SpaceX would immediately have a larger market cap than all but five of the companies traded in the S&P 500 index. That figure would place it ahead of Meta Platforms Inc. and Tesla Inc. by market capitalization, trailing only a small group of mega-cap firms such as Apple Inc. and Microsoft Corp.

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The scale of the proposed valuation reflects SpaceX’s dominance in orbital launch services and its Starlink satellite network, which serves millions of users globally. The company has also outlined long-term expansion plans tied to higher Starship launch cadence, orbital infrastructure, and lunar development initiatives.

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Elon Musk hints Tesla investors will be rewarded heavily

“Hold onto your Tesla stock. It’s going to be worth a lot, I think. That’s my bet,” Musk said.

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Credit: Grok

Elon Musk recently hinted that he believes Tesla investors will be rewarded heavily if they continue to hold onto their shares, and he reiterated that in a new interview that the company released on its social accounts this week.

Musk is one of the most successful CEOs in the modern era and has mammothed competitors on the Forbes Net Worth List over the past year as his holdings in his various companies have continued to swell.

Tesla investors, especially those who have been holding shares for several years, have also felt substantial gains in their portfolios. Over the past five years, the stock is up over 78 percent. Since February 2019, nearly seven years ago to the day, the stock is up over 1,800 percent.

Musk said in the interview:

“Hold onto your Tesla stock. It’s going to be worth a lot, I think. That’s my bet.”

It’s no secret Musk has been extremely bullish on his own companies, but Tesla in particular, because it is publicly traded.

However, the company has so many amazing projects that have an opportunity to revolutionize their respective industries. There is certainly a path to major growth on Wall Street for Tesla through its various future projects, including Optimus, Cybercab, Semi, and Unsupervised FSD.

  • Optimus (Tesla’s humanoid robot): Musk has discussed its potential for tasks like childcare, walking dogs, or assisting elderly parents, positioning it as a massive long-term driver of company value.
  • Cybercab (Tesla’s robotaxi/autonomous ride-hailing vehicle): a fully autonomous vehicle geared specifically for Tesla’s ride-sharing ambitions.
  • Semi (Tesla’s electric truck, with mentions of expansion, like in Europe): brings Tesla into the commercial logistics sector.
  • Unsupervised FSD (Full Self-Driving software achieving full autonomy without human supervision): turns every Tesla owner’s vehicle into a fully-autonomous vehicle upon release

These projects specifically are some of the highest-growth pillars Tesla has ever attempted to develop, especially in Musk’s eyes, as he has said Optimus will be the best-selling product of all-time.

Many analysts agree, but the bullish ones, like Cathie Wood of ARK Invest, are perhaps the one who believes Tesla has incredible potential on Wall Street, predicting a $2,600 price target for 2030, but this is not even including Optimus.

She told Bloomberg last March that she believes that the project will present a potential additive if Tesla can scale faster than anticipated.

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