Future Motion, the maker of the Onewheel electric skateboard, is recalling 300.000 skates due to four accidents that claimed the lives of four riders. He is asking owners of the old models to throw them away
Future Motion, the maker of the Onewheel electric skateboard, is recalling 300.000 Onewheel self-balancing skates in the US. Prompted by the US Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), the company is trying to fix its products after four rider deaths between 2019 and 2021.
The company had disputed previous prealerts of the CPSC for a recall and claimed to have tested and found nothing wrong with the Onewheels. At the time, the company issued a press release objecting to the CPSC and calling the agency's statements "unwarranted and troubling."
Now Future Motion is proceeding with a voluntary recall which normally he should have done almost a year earlier. The company is asking owners to stop using their Onewheels until they take appropriate action. The recommended solution for the newer Onewheel GT, Onewheel Pint X, Onewheel Pint and Onewheel Plus XR models is to update the software with a new system prenotices.
However, for early models, original Onewheel and Onewheel Plus the company is telling owners to stop using and to throw them away !!!.
The accidents occurred due to Onewheel skateboards malfunctioning after being pushed to certain limits. The Onewheel GT, Onewheel Pint X, Onewheel Pint and Onewheel Plus XR will receive a firmware update that will add a new “Haptic Buzz” warning feature that riders can feel and hear when the vehicle enters a state of emergency. error, has a low battery, or is nearing its limits and needs to slow down.
"This update is the culmination of many months of collaboration with the CPSC," the company's website says. To install the update, owners need to connect their Onewheels to the companion app and perform a firmware update.
The first skates are non-upgradable though, so US-based owners will receive a "proportionate $100 credit toward the purchase of a new board." Credit will only be issued after owners confirm they have disposed of the old model.
