Elon Musk is a very busy man.
The techno king already runs four companies that lead or are among the leaders in their sectors. Tesla (TSLA) is No. 1 in electric vehicles and in development of self-driving cars. The Austin group is also developing Optimus, a humanoid robot to replace labor.
SpaceX aims to conquer space and, particularly, Mars, where Musk promises that humans will be able to live in the next few years.
Neuralink, a company Musk launched in 2016, designs and installs brain-machine interfaces. The technology aims to strengthen our cognitive abilities by enabling us to interact directly with our brains. The billionaire has promised updates about Neuralink on Halloween.
Boring Co. is an infrastructure-services company. It digs tunnels, in Las Vegas in particular, to relieve traffic jams.
He is in the process of acquiring the microblogging network Twitter (TWTR).
Musk also finds time to play a role in global geopolitics. For example, he proposed a plan to end Russia's escalating war on Ukraine. (Here he's been less successful: He suggested that Ukraine cede Crimea, which Russia annexed in 2014, to Moscow. People have accused him being a lackey of Russian President Vladimir Putin.)
And Musk now smells success in another field entirely.
Musk Sells Perfume
If all this isn't enough to overload his schedule, Musk is now embarking on a new business. Via Boring Co. he's launched a perfume/eau de cologne.
Called Burnt Hair, the fragrance is presented as "The Essence of Repugnant Desire." The fragrance, in a red bottle, is "omnigender," and its not cheap: It costs $100.
Consumers can buy it only online at the Boring Co. website. This price includes tax and domestic shipping. International customers pay extra.
Besides credit cards and the usual digital payment options, people can buy the perfume with dogecoin, a cryptocurrency for which Musk is a main influencer.
Just hours after launching it, Musk said that more than 10,000 units had been sold, translating to $1 million in revenue.
"10,000 bottles of Burnt Hair sold!" the billionaire said on Oct. 11. He then trolled the media, as usual. "Can’t wait for media stories tomorrow about $1M of Burnt Hair sold 🤣"
To mark the occasion, the billionaire has become an ambassador for the perfume, as he does with all his other adventures. He started by changing his bio on Twitter and now presents himself as "Perfume Salesman."
"With a name like mine, getting into the fragrance business was inevitable – why did I even fight it for so long!?" the billionaire posted on Oct. 11.
In another post, he said that Burnt Hair is "The finest fragrance on Earth!"
The Influencer's Book
This perfume continues the billionaire's effort as an influencer, which means monetizing one's celebrity.
Musk has nearly 109 million followers on Twitter, making him the platform's fourth most followed personality behind former President Barack Obama and pop stars Justin Bieber and Katy Perry.
Musk doesn't spend a penny advertising his products and services. He knows that his tweets are enough to get people talking about him and his companies. And he uses that influence.
The billionaire had started to float the idea of the perfume last month. This came across as some kind of inside joke.
"Burnt Hair – Scent for Men by Singed," the billionaire said on Sept. 27. "Coming soon from @BoringCompany, the same people that sold you a Flamethrower."
He added that: "Stand out in a crowd! Get noticed as you walk through the airport!"
Musk does not say if he will launch other beauty products. In any case, he is entering a sector that is in definite growth mode.
The global perfume market is expected to grow 41% to $43.2 billion in 2028 from $30.6 billion in 2021, according to a study from Fortune Business Insights.
"Perfumes are generally composed of fragrances and various oils to give out a pleasant aroma," the study said.
"The increasing demand for beauty products across the globe is accelerating the beauty industry. This, in turn, is expected to drive the growth of the market."
