Elon Musk is promoting a new perfume, as the world’s richest man continues a track record of turning what ostensibly start out as jokes into sought-after products.

Musk announced the scent - called “Burnt Hair” and described as “the essence of repugnant desire” - in a tweet Oct 11, before changing his Twitter biography to “Perfume Salesman”. A separate product page posted by Boring Co, Musk’s tunnelling company, listed the fragrance at US$100 a pop, and Musk later tweeted that 10,000 bottles had been sold.

The billionaire had said in an earlier tweet in September that Boring Co would launch a scent for men that will help them “stand out in a crowd”. In a nod to a pun of his last name, he tweeted Tuesday that “with a name like mine, getting into the fragrance business was inevitable - why did I even fight it for so long!?”

While the Tesla Inc chief executive officer has a history of launching products based on jokes, his massive fanbase has turned them into highly sought after collectibles. A limited line of 20,000 flamethrowers sold by Boring Co in 2018 to raise US$10mil for its tunnel-building tests attracted huge interest.

He has also used such items to mock investors betting against his EV firm, including a ‘Tesla Tequila’ based on an April’s Fools’ Day joke that led to a share plunge, as well as a pair of ‘short shorts’ satin underwear (priced at US$69.420/RM324.98) to mark a victory over short sellers.

Musk has said that Boring Co plans to make a functional so-called Hyperloop in coming years - a tunnel-based, high-speed transportation system, although significant hurdles remain, including securing permits for projects and passing environmental studies.

 - Bloomberg