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NEW YORK — All models of Onewheel self-balancing electric skateboards are under recall after at least four deaths and multiple injuries were reported in recent years, federal regulators said last week.
The 300,000 now-recalled skateboards, manufactured by the California-based Future Motion, can stop balancing a rider if the boards' limits are exceeded — which risks serious crashes, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission said.
Future Motion has received dozens of incident reports involving these skateboards, the safety commission said Friday — including four deaths between 2019 and 2021 and serious injuries like paralysis, traumatic brain injury, fractures and ligament damage.
The deaths resulted from head trauma, the commission added. In at least three of the reports, the riders were not wearing helmets.
People who own an impacted Onewheel skateboard should stop using it immediately, regulators said. The recall impacts all Onewheel electric skateboards — including Onewheel, Onewheel+, Onewheel+ XR, Onewheel Pint, Onewheel Pint X and Onewheel GT — sold online and through independent retailers from January 2014 through September of this year.
To address the crash hazard, a new safety alert feature called "haptic buzz" will be available through a firmware update for Onewheel GT, Pint X, Pint and XR boards in the coming weeks, Future Motion's Onewheel team said. Riders can check their board's eligibility and learn more about installing the update with Onewheel's app on Future Motion's website.
Meanwhile, original Onewheel and Onewheel+ boards are not eligible for the firmware update. Eligible riders can arrange to receive a prorated refund in the form of $100 in store credit after disposing of the product, the safety commission and Future Motion's Onewheel team said.
"You should not use Onewheels that are not updated or that are not eligible for the firmware update," the Onewheel team wrote on its website, while also urging all riders to wear helmets and other protective gear. "Rider safety is our top priority and is critical to the long-term success of the sport.
Prior to last week's announcement, the Consumer Product Safety Commission warned consumers to stop using Onewheel electric skateboards back in November — similarly pointing to the reports of death and serious injuries. At the time, the commission said, Future Motion "refused to agree to an acceptable recall of the product."
In its online announcement, Future Motion's Onewheel team said that the recall update was "the culmination of months of work with the CPSC." The Associated Press reached out to Future Motion for further comment Monday.
