Future Motion, the maker of the Onewheel electric skateboard, is recalling every one of them, including 300,000 Onewheel self-balancing vehicles in the US. Alongside the US Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), the company now seeks to remedy the products after four known death cases — three without a helmet — between 2019 and 2021.
The recall comes a year after Future Motion took issue with the CPSC’s calls for recall and claimed that it tested and found nothing wrong with the Onewheels. At the time, the company issued a press release in objection to the CPSC and called the agency’s statements “unjustified and alarmist.”
Now Future Motion is moving forward with a voluntary recall it chose not to do almost a year earlier. The company is asking owners to stop using their Onewheels until they take appropriate action. For the newer Onewheel GT, Onewheel Pint X, Onewheel Pint, and Onewheel Plus XR, a software update with a new warning system is the remedy.
For early adopters, however, the CPSC and Future Motion are telling owners to stop using and discard the original Onewheel and Onewheel Plus. We asked Onewheel chief evangelist Jack Mudd in an email how many of the original units are affected, but Mudd refused to answer. Mudd also wouldn’t tell us why the company claimed there were no issues and publicly resisted issuing a recall back in 2022.
Mudd did say that the software update for the other models is rolling out worldwide, not just in the US.
Some crashes occurred due to Onewheel skateboards malfunctioning after being pushed to certain limits. The Onewheel GT, Onewheel Pint X, Onewheel Pint, and Onewheel Plus XR will receive a firmware update that will add a new warning “Haptic Buzz” feedback that riders can feel and hear when the vehicle enters an error state, is low on battery, or is nearing its limits and needs to slow down.
“This update is the culmination of months of work with the CPSC,” reads the company’s recall website. Last November, it called the CPSC’s warning about Onewheels “misleading” but stated it would “work to enhance the CPSC’s understanding of self-balancing vehicle technology and seek to collaborate with the agency to enhance rider safety.”
To install the update, owners must connect their Onewheels to the accompanying app and run a firmware update — the process is fully explained in a new video.
For early adopters, however, owners can receive a “pro-rated credit of $100 to the purchase of a new board,” according to Mudd. The credit will only be issued after owners confirm that they have disposed of the old model.
Alongside Future Motion’s blink on the decision to recall Onewheel, the company shared a new video on YouTube highlighting the new Haptic Buzz feature as well as best practices when riding. “We’ve been working closely with the CPSC for over a year in order to develop this new safety feature,” Mudd says in the video. He adds that ignoring pushback or Haptic Buzz “can result in serious injury or death.” It took engineers a while to whip up Haptic Buzz; perhaps it’s something that would not have been ready in a timely fashion after CPSC’s first whistle last year.
Loose definition of a recall. Newer models are getting a software update. Older models are told to be thrown in the bin and get $100 credits to buy a new one
For early adopters, however, the CPSC and Future Motion are telling owners to stop using and discard the original Onewheel and Onewheel Plus.
For early adopters, however, owners can receive a “pro-rated credit of $100 to the purchase of a new board,” according to Mudd. The credit will only be issued after owners confirm that they have disposed of the old model.
$100 off of a $2000 replacement, the rest of which will have to be done out of pocket. “We’re down with offering a recall, but we had to make sure it lines our C-suite’s pockets first.”
This is to stop everyone who has Re-Wheeled their boards. They did win a cease and desist to have the Re-Wheel software removed from the web by the author, but there are versions that still exist. I rewheeled a pint recently, and if I update that board, it will loose the modifications. FM is just up to their usual game of locking down their boards so folks can’t mess with them. I’ll be getting a Float Wheel when my XR finally dies.
Re-Wheeled their boards.
What does that do?
For thr pint, I was able to set the pushback to XR style so the board top speed is much higher.
Onewheel is a garbage, monopolistic company that spits on consumer rights.
Yes, you said company already.
Sounds like capitalism working as intended.
Yeah but i love my GT so… also, I dont remember ever seeing any VESC anywhere near as good
I’m not super involved with the community but I thought vesc was starting to match futuremotion software, aren’t the floatlife guys using vesc as daily drivers or something?
I don’t know about garbage, but what actual monopolistic practices have they shown? Haven’t they just cornered that market with a unique and superior product?
Watch Louis Rossman’s videos for more details, but no. Onewheel is extremely litigious and were able to get a patent for the entire design of single wheel vehicles, so they can basically sue anybody for patent infringement just for making any kind of single wheeled vehicle.
It would be like if Ford got a patent for any machine with an engine and four wheels, and could sue any company that tried to create their own car.
They also have spent a ton of effort purposely making their Onewheel boards as tough to repair as possible. The earliest models of boards used a bunch of off the shelf parts and could be swapped, modded, and repaired by regular folks. They started writing their software to purposely brick any new boards detected if plugged in, so users couldn’t buy a battery or motherboard from a broken Onewheel of the same model and use parts from it on to repair their current Onewheel.
They are super anti-consumer, anti-competition, and only are as popular as they are because of these practices. They innovate less and less and instead spend tons of effort making sure nobody else can create a better product. They also don’t want users modding or repairing their products, because they can’t monetize that.
Haven’t electric unicycles been around for way longer though? I remember Vat 19 selling one years ago and one of the meal delivery companies in my city uses them on occasion. Do they have a patent on those too?
No you stupid dicks maybe give them a new version after they return their originals and replace them.
Four deaths per 300,000 boards? Hoo-boy! Wait until the CPSC hears about cars!
It’s really only one death since 3 idiots weren’t wearing helmets.
Not sure how not wearing a helmet makes it okay to be killed by a faulty product.
Because if you die from not wearing proper PPE, that’s on you.
No its not and I cant believe I even have to say this lol. If I shoot you with a gun its on you for not wearing kevlar right? If your car explodes out of nowhere thats also on you for not wearing a seatbelt I suppose?
Correct, you don’t recall the windshield of a car for being faulty if they’re breaking because people not wearing seat belts keep flying through them. Deaths from not utilizing required protection should be considered differently.
If it was suddenly a TikTok fad to not wear bicycle helmets while riding in traffic and bicycle-related deaths went up, would you suddenly consider bicycles themselves more dangerous?
No.
These were “recalled” because people were pushing them beyond their designed and stipulated limits leading to fatal accidents, especially for people not wearing helmets.
All they were required to do was add haptic feedback indicating “you’re doing what you’re not supposed to,” which, if you ride one, you would know that was already pretty clear.
The fact that they weren’t required to change anything about the design or function of the OneWheel itself should tell you something.
You wouldnt recall the windshield because thats not the part malfunctioning. If a car keeps braking randomly while going 120 on the highway, it doesnt matter if you use a seatbelt or not, the car is faulty and thats what would get recalled.
I reread the text passage, it says pretty clearly ‘the Onewheel was malfunctioning’.
Just because you didnt follow the instructions to wear a seatbelt doesnt make it okay to be killed. Thats like saying running over pedestrians is alright if they are jaywalking, they dont count as traffic casualties. If the only deaths counted are those where every party involved perfectly obeyed all rules and acted 100% correctly, there wouldnt be many left. Cars would be considered completely safe.
K
many interesting conversations here and looks like a lot of folks who ride these often without issue.
I’m a motorized skateboarder for well over 15 years now. I’ve ridden one wheels a few times and while they are intuitive and versatile they are also the most dangerous option in an already very dangerous category. it’s anecdotal, but all the worst injuries I’ve directly and indirectly confirmed were all from riding one wheels. I have lived on the edge and done plenty of dangerous things but owning a one wheel will never be one of them. the number of times I’ve had to be very nimble very quick would not have been possible on a one wheel. they simply lack the quick stability required to safely jump off from either foot and run out in any direction.
all that to say I’m not surprised that they have done some version of a recall and I’m wondering how they can legally sell them at all. yes, they are impressive vehicles and can be used relatively safely. but they are absolutely objectively more dangerous than 4 wheels.
I’d honestly just buy an electric 🛴 scooter first. A one wheel seems like a solution in search of a problem to me. But I’ve never been a skateboard guy.
What’s the benefit of a one wheel over a four wheel skateboard?
I have one of each. I would say the benefit of the onewheel is a much cushier ride (giant, wide pneumatic wheel vs 4 smaller polyurethane wheels) and more maneuverability. The onewheel can tackle all types of terrain, which gives you a real sense of freedom while riding, whereas the 4-wheeler is pretty much limited to pavement/concrete (although you can put 7" pneumatic tires on 4-wheel boards that can accommodate them). Onewheeling is much more akin to that snowboarding feeling except you can pivot more since you only have a single point of contact with the ground, but there’s not as much (any, really) of the lateral slide that you get on a snowboard, which can be both a plus and a minus.
If I want to go fast, I definitely grab the 4-wheeler. If I want to take a more leisurely pace/go explore offroad, I take the onewheel. I totally get and agree with what @fosho said about having to be very nimble & quick in a pinch, which is definitely true unless you’re not going that fast on it to begin with. I rarely, if ever, exceed 15mph on the onewheel, but I can easily hit twice that on the 4-wheel board. Having to dodge something on that thing at that speed can be just as catastrophic as having the onewheel turn into a catapult at 15 mph. Both have their risks, and almost all of them can be tied to speed.
I can’t help feeling a lot of these new motorized doodads are total deathtraps. I used to have a 40mph kaabo electric scooter and although it was mega fun, I sold it before it had a chance to kill me. Small wheels, poor geometry for stability, small caster angle, intoxicatingly high power - it’s a recipe for disaster.
Fun fact, a sudden 30mph stop is about the same as falling from a 2-story building. (I used to teach PHTLS)
Although it’s true you’re going about 30mph when you hit the ground from that height, it’s much more harmful because of the continued acceleration due to gravity. An equivalent scenario would be hitting a brick wall at 30mph which then immediately begins accelerating into you at 9.8 m/s^2.
Thanks for the explanation!
the only benefit is the smaller turning radius. not something worth the much larger risk.
I’m wondering how they can legally sell them at all. yes, they are impressive vehicles and can be used relatively safely. but they are absolutely objectively more dangerous than 4 wheels.
Cool take, I also have one:
MOTORCYCLES ARE DANGEROUS.
Motorcyclists should be legally prevented from buying, owning, and operating them. The freedom to put one’s own life at risk is not a freedom I believe in.
Everybody should be forced to choose between 5 travel options over land: Walking, bicycling (standard construction), car, bus, and train.
No other option should be permitted to the public, the public must be protected from themselves.
it sounds like you’re being sarcastic. but the reality is that the line exists somewhere. motorcycles, with seats and handles, are safer than motorized skateboards at the same speeds. you’ll have to come up with an example that better fits where you’re implying motorbikes do.
I’ve had an XR for years and never had any issues. People push these things to the limit and don’t understand the float life.
If you want to go fast don’t get a onewheel, you’ll eat shit
No, they literally failed or never took Intro To Engineering Safety / Ethics.
It is flat out irresponsible to sell a board with a fine line between normal operation and critical failure with an anemic, easy to miss warning system, that straight up cannot kick in in some failure situations or will exacerbate the problem.
They were irresponsible morons for not including an audible alarm initially, and they were wreckless and greedy assholes for having the capability of haptic feedback but never enabling it.
As someone who has to read multiple engineering safety textbooks, this is literal textbook bad engineering and there’s a reason the CPSC isn’t going after EUC makers who included alarms on every single model.
Can’t wait to see Rossmann’s video on this one. Especially the part about how their idea of a recall is to tell people to throw away their device and buy a new one.
Edit-- https://youtu.be/Q_Mk-5XkSmY
$100 credit is miniscule in comparison to the price of the board. The whole situation can FOH. I don’t push my lil pint x past 16mph tbh, and even that can feel slightly sketchy depending on ground conditions.
Yeah, that’s less than a 10% discount on their cheapest board. (The pint starts at $1,050) You are better off waiting for a sale.
Grabbed my pint x and a fender for $1,555 after tax.
I’ve never understood what gap these things fill that isn’t better filled by a bike. They look really fun, but as soon as I think seriously about it I can’t see why I wouldn’t want the exercise and mobility of walking or biking, and what I can’t do with those is satisfied by my car.
Not trying to shit on it, just musing.
Skateboard/last mile niche. You can pick up and hold them with one hand when on mass transit, then zip to your destination easily.
If it were a lot cheaper I might be down. Saw a guy cruising along the beach near the water in Oregon and that looked really nice.
Wait, you mean this inherently unstable design is actually dangerous? Shocking, I say!
Just looking at this pic it looks like a lace or something going in that exposed wheel looks lethal, I’ve never used one but it looks sketchy
