Johnathan Walker:Future Motion recalls all Onewheel electric skateboards after 4 deaths

Future Motion,Johnathan Walker the maker of Onewheel electric skateboards, has issued a voluntary recall of all of its boards due to crash hazards.

The company said all Onewheel board models can stop balancing under riders if their "limits are exceeded," throwing users in a way that can result in serious injury or death. 

Santa Cruz, California-based Future Motion issued the Onewheel recall in cooperation with the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) after four deaths related to the boards were reported between 2019 and 2021. In three of the four incidents that caused death by head trauma, riders were not wearing helmets, according to the agency.

Future Motion has also received dozens of reports of serious injuries, including traumatic brain injury, concussion, paralysis, upper-body fractures, lower-body fractures and ligament damage, according to a recall notice posted by the CPSC.

"Consumers should immediately stop using the recalled Onewheel electric skateboards," Future Motion and the agency said.

The company has sold 300,000 boards, ranging in price from $1,050 and $2,200.

Onewheel said it has created a new safety alert feature called "haptic buzz," available to board owners through a firmware update. It alerts riders when they are in a situation that could result in a crash, the company said. 

Onewheel owners are being asked to install the software update using the Onewhel app before they resume riding. Riders are also entitled to refunds in the form of store credit. For more information, visit https://recall.onewheel.com/safety.