NEW YORK (AP) — Following reports of multiple injuries and deaths, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission announced last week that it is recalling all models of Onewheel self-balancing electric skateboards manufactured by California-based Future Motion. The recall affects 300,000 skateboards due to a risk of riders losing balance if the board’s limits are exceeded, resulting in serious crashes.
The CPSC reported that Future Motion has received dozens of incident reports, including four deaths and numerous serious injuries such as paralysis, traumatic brain injury, fractures, and ligament damage, between 2019 and 2021. At least three of the reported fatalities involved riders who were not wearing helmets, with the deaths resulting from head trauma.
As a result of the recall, Onewheel skateboard owners are advised to immediately stop using their boards. The recall includes all Onewheel electric skateboards sold between January 2014 and September of this year, such as Onewheel, Onewheel+, Onewheel+ XR, Onewheel Pint, Onewheel Pint X, and Onewheel GT, both online and through independent retailers.
To address the crash hazard, a new safety alert feature called “haptic buzz” will be available through a firmware update for certain Onewheel boards in the coming weeks. However, original Onewheel and Onewheel+ boards are not eligible for the update. Future Motion and the CPSC are offering riders a prorated refund of $100 in store credit for the disposal of these boards.
Prior to the recall announcement, the CPSC had previously warned consumers to stop using Onewheel electric skateboards back in November. At that time, Future Motion had reportedly “refused to agree to an acceptable recall of the product.” The company’s announcement regarding the recall update last week stated that it was the result of months of collaborative efforts with the CPSC. The company did not provide further comment when requested by The Associated Press.
In the meantime, riders are urged to prioritize safety by wearing helmets and protective gear while using Onewheel skateboards. It remains to be seen how the recall and safety measures put in place by Future Motion will impact the company and the broader electric skateboard industry.