Float History

After 25 days, the original Kickstarter campaign for the Onewheel is fully funded by 1,015 backers for $630,862.

Future Motion, Inc. was granted an ex parte temporary restraining order and seizure order against Changzhou First International Trade, which prompted US Marshals to raid their booth at CES 2016 (video), confiscating their Trotter single wheel electric skateboard devices and all associated promotional material.

Future Motion, Inc. previously filed a complaint of patent infringement against Changzhou First International Trade on January 5, 2016.

Future Motion, Inc. voluntarily dismissed their lawsuit against Changzhou First International Trade on Feburary 4, 2016.

In Miami, Florida, Cory Boehne witnessed a serious hit and run while riding his Onewheel+ XR. Boehne was able to chase the driver down on his board, break their driver’s side window, remove them from their car, and detain them until law enforcement arrived. (additional sources)

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!)

Though there has been no official communication from the company (and so this is ultimately speculation), Craft & Ride, a once prominent 3rd party accessory vendor and frequent sponsor of many community events over the years, seemingly dissolved on or around June 10, 2025.

On this date, the craftandride.com website began redirecting to onewheel.com. Despite this, Onewheel Factory Team Rider Austen Silva confirmed Future Motion, Inc has no involvement with Craft & Ride.

Several community members reported their final purchases from Craft & Ride were never fulfilled. Their business address and warehouse was available for lease as of June 26, 2025.

Additionally, the Onewheel Owners Group on Facebook, the largest Onewheel Community of over 38,000 members on the platform and administrated by Craft & Ride, removed all other admins and moderators and paused the group indefinitely the next day. It remains paused today.

On September 3, 2025, the craftandride.com website returned, but only as a generic plug for their social media accounts and an Instagram story feed, despite their last social media post (as of Sept 3, 2025) being in April 2025.

(If you have any additional verifiable evidence of what happened to Craft & Ride, or if you’re a vendor who has verifiable unpaid invoices with Craft & Ride, please send me a message!)

Around 8:00pm EST (local), a long standing Thursday night group ride of over 60 riders on a variety of electric vehicles in St. Petersburg, Florida was targeted by the City of St. Petersburg Police Department in an organized sting at Beach Dr NE between 8th Ave NE and 7th Ave NE. Over 17 officers responded and systematically handed out 24 citations – 20 citations for one wheels and electric unicycles, 2 citations for electric bicycles, and 2 citations for electric scooters that violated state statues. All citations that Float History has been provided cite Section 316.2065(11) of Florida State Law.

Section 316.2065(11) reads “No person upon roller skates, or riding in or by means of any coaster, toy vehicle, or similar device, may go upon any roadway except while crossing a street on a crosswalk […]“.

The St. Petersburg Police Department cites St. Petersburg, Florida Municode Article VI Section 26-284 as establishing “motorized skateboards, motorized roller skates, hoverboards, hoverskates, hovershoes, one-wheeled electric boards, or other similar devices” as “motorized toy vehicles”.

However, this citation appears to be in conflict with Section 316.2128(1) of Florida State Law, which reads “The operator of a motorized scooter or micromobility device has all of the rights and duties applicable to the rider of a bicycle under s. 316.2065 […]” or, for riders whose devices qualify as their electric personal assistive mobility devices, Section 316.2068(1)(a), which reads “(1) An electric personal assistive mobility device, as defined in s. 316.003, may be operated: (a) On a road or street where the posted speed limit is 25 miles per hour or less.”

State preemption should preclude the City of St. Petersburg from exercising authority in a way that is inconsistent with the state constitution or statutes, so it is unclear if these tickets would hold if challenged in court.

When asked for comment, the St. Petersburg Police Department provided the following statement:

“The Police Department has received complaints about [the] ride group blocking traffic, riding in lanes of opposite traffic, and ignoring traffic signals. Our officers met with [the] group this summer to explain the state laws and local ordinances. Electric uni-wheels/unicycles are not permitted on roadways or sidewalks. Motorized scooters and e-bicycles that can travel above 28 m.p.h. are considered motor vehicles and must be registered with the DMV, insured, and the rider must have a driver’s license.”

Contrary to the provided comment and comments from officers present on the night of the sting, recordings of the previous meeting 2 months ago between the ride group and the St. Petersburg Police Department show officers placing an emphasis on illegal dirt bikes being the issue with the group ride previously. Multiple one wheel electric skateboards and electric unicycles were present during this prior meeting and were not emphasized as an issue nor issued a citation.

The targeted enforcement follows a string of 3 e-bike related deaths in the previous weeks which the St. Petersburg Police Department stated “[involved] e-bike riders who were not obeying traffic signals or the rules of the road.”

(source 1, source 2, source 3, source 4)

This is not legal advice. Please consult your lawyer for questions regarding Florida state law or St. Petersburg city ordinances and how they might apply or be litigated. A freedom of information act request from the community is pending for additional details.

If you received a citation related to this event and plan on fighting the ticket in court, I’d love to hear from you.