Recall alert: All models of Onewheel skateboards recalled; four deaths reported

All models of Onewheel self-balancing electric skateboards are under recall after at least four people have died while using them.

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According to The Associated Press, multiple injuries were also reported in recent years, federal regulators said last week.

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission said the skateboards can stop balancing a rider if the boards’ limits are exceeded.

The recall covers some 300,000 skateboards.

Future Motion, the company that makes the boards, said it has received dozens of incident reports involving these skateboards, 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 CPSC added. In at least three of the reports, the riders were not wearing helmets.

Owners of the Onewheel skateboards should stop using them, the CPSC said.

All of the company’s skateboards are being recalled. The list includes the following models: Onewheel, Onewheel+, Onewheel+ XR, Onewheel Pint, Onewheel Pint X and Onewheel GT. The boards were sold online and through independent retailers from January 2014 through September of this year, according to the CPSC.

According to the AP, 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.

The 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 CPSC and Future Motion’s Onewheel team said, according to the CPSC.

“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.”

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