Future Motion, Inc., the Santa Cruz, California, manufacturer of Onewheel electric skateboards, announced a recall of 300,000 of its Onewheel Self-Balancing Electric Skateboards after it received reports of four deaths and numerous injury-related incidents, including head trauma, brain injuries, fractures and paralysis. According to First Motion, its skateboards can stop balancing if the boards’ limits are exceeded, posing a crash hazard that can result in serious injury or death. Onewheel riders have experienced the board suddenly stopping while in use.
All models of Onewheel skateboards sold between January 2014 and September 2023 are being recalled by First Motion and the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC). The recall instructs consumers to immediately stop using the recalled Onewheel electric skateboards. Consumers with any Onewheel model (GT, Pint X, Pint, or +XR) should download or update the Onewheel app to update the firmware on their board and add a “Haptic Buzz” alert functionality, which is a tactile and audible warning system that provides the rider with a buzzing sensation and with a sound when nearing the board’s limits, when in low battery, or when in an error state.
A year earlier, on November 16, 2022, the CPSC issued a “warning” about the “risk of death and serious injury” with Future Motion’s Onewheel skateboards after numerous reports of the boards suddenly stopping while in motion following at least 51 complaints in 2022, 47 of which said that the rider was ejected or fell after the skateboard suddenly stopped. Dozens more complaints were filed with CPSC so far in 2023. The CPSC urged First Motion to recall the devices in 2022.
At that time, First Motion rejected CPSC’s urging of a recall. First Motion announced in a press release that its e-skateboards are safe when the rider follows “common-sense safe riding practices.” First Motion also stated that it evaluated the claims that the boards suddenly stopped and “in no case have we found any underlying technical issue with the board. . . All of these boards performed as designed.” First Motion’s recent recall of all Onewheel e-skateboards is a complete reversal of its position.
Abramson Smith Waldsmith LLP represents victims of injuries caused by the design defects of Onewheel skateboards by Future Motion, Inc. Contact us to discuss your case.