People are already torching things they shouldn't with Elon Musk's flamethrowers

• Elon Musk's Boring Company has gotten its $500 flamethrowers into the hands of consumers for the first time.
• One thousand people got hold of the devices at a Boring Company headquarters pickup party over the weekend, where they torched marshmallows.
• For legal reasons, the machines are named Not-a-Flamethrower.
• Some people have already been torching things at home and sharing the images on social media.

Elon Musk's Boring Company got its $500 flamethrowers into the hands of consumers for the first time on Saturday.

The company sold 20,000 of the machines, but the first thousand were distributed at an event at The Boring Company's headquarters in Los Angeles. People formed long lines to get hold of their very own flamethrower.

Musk was happily tweeting away from the so-called pickup party.

The name of the fire-spewing machine is Not-a-Flamethrower, owing to shipping and customs regulations that restrict the transport of anything termed a flamethrower.

Musk tweeted what he claimed was the terms and conditions for the machines, some of which were presented in the style of the US children's author Dr. Seuss.

Last month, Digital Trends walked through what it called the "ridiculous" terms and conditions for the Not-a-Flamethrower.

The YouTuber Justine Ezarik unboxed the device in a video over the weekend, in which the tech reviewer Faruk Korkmaz commented: "Read the terms, they're not joking. Even though it's written in a joking manner."

At the pickup event, customers tested the flamethrowers (which are definitely flamethrowers) by torching marshmallows.

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After customers took the flamethrowers home they started sharing pictures and videos on social media. These guys flame-roasted steaks.

Musk's terms and conditions recommended using them for crème brûlée — these people obliged.

Not all of the images depicted safe or controlled use of the machines, however.

This included Ezarik, a vlogger whose YouTube channel has over 4 million subscribers. She accidentally burned a section of her garden's artificial grass when making a cooking video.

This guy lit something he was smoking with the device.

While another man sprayed flames dangerously close to his feet.

Some have criticized the sale of the Not-a-Flamethrower to the general public, viewing it as a major safety risk.

With 20,000 flamethrowers now in circulation, expect more flame-throwing displays on social media.