Lifestyle
Elon Musk sells flamethrowers for just $500
Preorders halfway gone in just days
Is there anything that Elon Musk can’t do? The multi-billionaire’s numerous ventures have brought us the Tesla car, SpaceX, and PayPal. Now, Musk has laid his hands on another wacky project — the Boring Company flamethrower.
Tasked with building underground tunnels that will connect cities, Musk’s Boring Company soon also became a front for the billionaire’s wilder ideas. Last year, the company made a killing when it sold branded hats for US$ 20 apiece.
To boost sales, Musk promised that he’d start selling flamethrowers if The Boring Company sold 50,000 hats. Despite his known affinity for the eccentric, no one thought he was being serious.
After reaching his sales target, Musk is fulfilling his pledge by offering the promised flamethrowers for preorder. Each flamethrower will cost US$ 500 with planned production of only 20,000 units. At the time of this writing, customers have already bought 10,000 of these things.
The flamethrowers themselves aren’t as hardcore as you might think. Rather than a cascade of flame, it spurts less than 10 feet of flame. Musk even assures customers that the flamethrower is legal under the regulations specified by the United States Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives.
Since its announcement, The Boring Company has released promotional videos that show the flamethrower at work, including one with Musk himself brandishing the toy at the camera. In fact, most of the item’s promotional material borders on hilarious that you might think that this was all fun.
Musk even jokes that “a flamethrower is a super terrible idea. Definitely don’t buy one.”
However, lawmakers aren’t laughing at his antics. For example, California Assemblyman Miguel Santiago plans to forbid Musk from selling his flamethrower in the wildfire-ravaged state of California. The politician states that Musk betrayed the trust given after he was entrusted with California’s underground tunnels.
With the flamethrower’s legality and safety currently in question, one thing’s for sure: The Boring Company sells fire extinguishers separately. (They are “overpriced” at US$ 30.)
Her GadgetMatch
TECNO and Angélica Dass visit the Philippines next for its grand portrait project
100 Faces, 100 Stories
A portrait can show what someone looks like, but what about the story behind the face?
TECNO and visual artist Angélica Dass are exploring that question through “100 Portraits of Becoming,” a two-year global portrait project featuring 100 people across Kenya, the Philippines, Saudi Arabia, Türkiye, and Brazil.
The project begins with 20 portraits from Kenya, each paired with a personal story about identity, choices, change, and growth. Rather than having participants represent an entire culture or generation, the project focuses on their individual experiences.
Beyond inclusive imaging
The project builds on TECNO’s work with Universal Tone, its imaging technology designed to represent diverse skin tones more naturally and accurately.
But “100 Portraits of Becoming” takes that idea further. With AI increasingly involved in capturing, recognizing, and generating images of people, TECNO and Dass want to explore how technology can better represent the individual behind the image.
For Dass, meaningful portraiture starts with human connection.
“Meaningful portraits are never created by technology alone.”
She says her experience in Kenya reinforced the importance of trust, listening, and the willingness of people to share their stories.
The Philippines is next
Following Kenya, the project heads to the Philippines for a chapter called “Beyond Many Labels.”
It will feature 20 individuals, including working solo mothers and people whose lives are closely connected to solo parenthood.
Their stories will look beyond labels such as “single mother,” “breadwinner,” and “strong woman,” while exploring their ambitions, relationships, and personal growth.
The chapter will also explore “diskarte” — the ways Filipinos adapt, make choices, and find practical ways forward in everyday life.
After the Philippines, “100 Portraits of Becoming” will continue to Saudi Arabia, Türkiye, and Brazil.
By the end of the project, TECNO and Dass hope the 100 portraits will offer exactly what the title suggests: 100 different ways of seeing humanity.
Smartphones
When TECNO-logy meets Tonino Lamborghini legacy
Meet the TECNO POVA 8 Pro Tonino Lamborghini Limited Edition
Tonino Lamborghini has built an identity around Italian design, craftsmanship, and a bold sense of individuality. Now, that identity is being translated into a smartphone through its collaboration with TECNO.
The result is the TECNO POVA 8 Pro 5G Tonino Lamborghini Limited Edition.
Rather than simply placing a recognizable logo on a phone, the two brands worked to bring Tonino Lamborghini’s distinctive design language into the POVA experience. And there’s more to it than its black-and-red color scheme.
A design built around bold expression
The POVA 8 Pro 5G Limited Edition takes inspiration from Tonino Lamborghini’s visual language, incorporating elements such as geometric patterns, structured lines, and layered textures.
The rear panel uses black as its dominant color, accented by red details.
At the center is the Pulse Line, representing energy and movement. Meanwhile, the Signature Shield draws from Tonino Lamborghini’s distinctive shield identity.
Then, a metallic Tonino Lamborghini logo completes the composition. Together, these elements give the phone a recognizable personality without relying solely on the branding.
The rear panel reveals more as you move it
One of the more interesting aspects of the design is how TECNO created depth on the rear panel.
The company developed a dual-layer stacking process that combines different treatments and material layers. Internal mirror structures allow hidden red elements to appear differently depending on how light hits the phone.
There is also a physical difference in height between the layers, creating a three-dimensional effect rather than a completely flat surface.
It’s a subtle detail, but one that makes the design feel more dynamic in the hand.
The experience continues beyond the hardware
TECNO also carried the Tonino Lamborghini identity into the software.
The customized interface uses the same black-and-red palette, while icons feature sharper, more geometric shapes inspired by the brand’s visual identity.
TECNO says it spent nearly four months developing the customized experience, including dynamic wallpapers, ringtones, and an Alive Matrix Display featuring a Tonino Lamborghini “L” effect.
The accessories follow the same design direction, with a black-and-red braided cable, customized charger, and protective case. The case combines TPU and PC with a precision-carved, Kevlar-inspired carbon-fiber texture.
More than just a co-branded smartphone
What makes this collaboration interesting is that Tonino Lamborghini’s identity isn’t limited to a logo or a special colorway.
The Pulse Line, Signature Shield, layered rear panel, customized interface, and accessories all contribute to one cohesive visual language.
For TECNO, it brings a distinct design identity to the POVA 8 Pro 5G. For Tonino Lamborghini, it offers another way to express its approach to Italian design, craftsmanship, and individuality.
The result is a smartphone designed to stand out on its own terms — all while showing how two distinct design philosophies can come together in a single product.
SEE ALSO: TECNO POVA 8 Pro Tonino Lamborghini Limited Edition review
Enterprise
Chimelong’s newest attraction might be the robots themselves
The future of travel is here, and it knows tai chi!
Imagine checking into a theme park and greeting a humanoid robot. A few hours later, you watch one perform tai chi. Another challenges you to table tennis. Yet another helps you navigate to the next attraction. By nightfall at your hotel, robots enhance the experience again.
This vision drives the latest collaboration between AGIBOT and Chimelong Group. Together, they brought over 300 robots to Chimelong Spaceship Park in Zhuhai, China.
This launch represents a massive real-world application of embodied AI in tourism. AGIBOT and Chimelong integrated these robots across entertainment, education, visitor services, retail, and hospitality. They act as active participants rather than remaining confined to a single demonstration area.
The timing celebrates a notable milestone, too. During the launch, Chimelong received the 20,000th robot to roll off AGIBOT’s production line.
Your next theme park companion could be a robot
At Chimelong Spaceship Park, robots act as part of the total visitor experience. Guests don’t just stop to watch them from afar.
Some take on entertainment roles by performing martial arts, gymnastics, and tai chi. Others interact directly with guests through table tennis and hands-on manipulation challenges.
Designers also created robots for the quieter moments of a park day. They answer questions, introduce exhibits, and guide visitors through designated areas.
In retail settings, robots assist shoppers with their purchases. Meanwhile, hotel deployments place them in guest-facing roles to welcome visitors and hold multi-turn conversations.
Consequently, your trip involves encountering robots in several different contexts. The journey stretches seamlessly from your park arrival to your hotel return.
When the robots become part of the show
Theatrical applications are perhaps the easiest to picture. AGIBOT and Chimelong incorporate robots into live performances alongside human actors, music, and lighting.
Rather than treating a humanoid robot as a mere technological curiosity onstage, creators coordinate multiple robots into fluid routines.
Elsewhere, visitors engage with robots through games and educational activities. This creates a highly interactive, hands-on introduction to embodied AI.
Theme parks offer a perfectly fitting setting for this technology. Parks historically excel at making technology disappear into the magic. Engineers design animatronics, immersive environments, special effects, and automated rides to serve the story.
Humanoid robots push this idea into new territory. They communicate, navigate physical spaces, respond to people, and adapt to different settings with ease.
A robot-filled day does not stop at the park gates
The collaboration naturally extends into Chimelong’s hospitality operations.
Robots welcome hotel guests, hold complex conversations, and offer highly personalized interactions. This introduces an interesting possibility for resorts. Technology can now follow visitors beyond the main attraction and enhance the broader destination.
Travelers will soon experience trips where the boundaries between attraction, service, and technology blur entirely.
A robot might serve as your tour guide. Next, you could watch a robotic entertainment performance. Finally, a mechanical host could wait downstairs in your hotel lobby.
Potentially, the robot you meet in one area connects directly to the wider system operating backstage.
Making hundreds of robots work together
Deploying over 300 robots into a busy tourism destination requires massive coordination.
AGIBOT, Chimelong, and China Mobile established a dedicated 5G network. This ensures stable connectivity across high-traffic areas. The team uses centralized coordination to manage robots moving through various park and hotel environments.
Comprehensive operational systems also handle network security, privacy protection, charging, and fire safety.
Guests easily overlook this infrastructure while watching a robot perform tai chi. Yet, this backend framework remains one of the most fascinating aspects of the project. A theme park represents a highly complicated environment. Thousands of people constantly move through spaces shifting rapidly from one experience to another.
Making robots useful here means teaching them to embody the destination itself.
The beginning of a bigger experiment
AGIBOT and Chimelong are establishing a joint research institute for embodied AI in tourism.
This institute will explore new applications, operating models, and technologies. Researchers will draw directly from the experience of this massive deployment. The first project phase lays the groundwork to expand robot usage across all Chimelong properties.
For now, the appeal remains fairly simple. Creators build theme parks on the promise of making ordinary life feel extraordinary.
Chimelong bets that humanoid robots will increasingly spark that exact magic.
-
News1 week agovivo X500 Series launches with major imaging upgrades
-
News6 days agoOPPO Find X10 Pro Max is the first phone with a triple 200MP camera system
-
Reviews2 weeks agoREDMI Note 17 Pro Max review: A new breed born from AI greed
-
Singapore1 week agoEpson Lifestudio Grand Plus EH-LS970B with 4K projection, more launches
-
News1 week agovivo introduces OriginOS 7 with smarter multitasking and AI features
-
Drones2 weeks agoDJI Lito X1 review: Is this the best lightweight drone for creators?
-
Gaming2 weeks agoValve unveils price of the Steam Frame
-
Philippines2 weeks agoREDMI NOTE 17 Series: Price, availability in the Philippines
























