Float History

On this date, The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) posted a warning about the risk of death and serious injury with all models of Future Motion Inc.’s Onewheel self-balancing electric skateboards. Siting at least four reported deaths between 2019 and 2021 and multiple reports of serious injuries after the product failed to balance the rider or suddenly stopped while in motion.

CPSC Commissioner Richard Trumka stated “Immediately stop using all Onewheel electric skateboards—they are not worth dying for.”

According to the CPSC, Future Motion, Inc. refused to agree to an acceptable recall of the product. Future Motion, Inc. issued a press release and public message regarding the CPSC statement on social media, calling CPSC’s warning “unjustified and alarmist”.

In conjunction with the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), Future Motion, Inc. voluntarily recalls 300,000 Onewheel self-balancing electric skateboards, involving all Onewheel models. At the same time, Future Motion, Inc. released the Haptic Buzz alert functionality (release video), which addresses the safety concerns in the recall via a firmware update that was available by September 29, 2023 to Onewheel GT, and available via a much later update on Onewheel+XR, Onewheel Pint, and Onewheel Pint X.

According to Future Motion, Inc., the original Onewheel and Onewheel+ models are not eligible for the firmware update, so they should not be used. Onewheel and Onewheel+ owners can confirm eligibility and possession to receive a $100 credit toward the purchase of a new Onewheel.

Although Future Motion, Inc. originally stated there would be a way for Onewheel Racing League members who met a mileage minimum to disable Haptic Buzz, this feature never actually launched. It is commonly speculated that the feature was scraped in order satisfy the CPSC.

(If you know the exact date the Haptic Buzz firmware was available for Onewheel+ XR, Onewheel Pint, or Onewheel Pint X, please send me a message!)