Peloton Interactive (PTON 5.42%) is backtracking today on its initial response to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) regarding safety concerns with its treadmills. In March, Peloton was informed of a child's death from an accident with one of its treadmills.
Peloton CEO John Foley initially sent a letter to customers stressing the safety instructions that come with the product, which include a warning to keep children and pets away from the equipment, as well as the instruction that owners should remove the machines' safety keys when they are not in use.
The CPSC followed up with a press release on April 17 warning consumers to stop using the Tread+, and Peloton responded, calling the CPSC's press release "misleading" and "inaccurate." But the company today has issued full recalls of both the Tread and Tread+ treadmills.
Image source: Peloton Interactive.
The company said the recall would involve more than 130,000 units, most of which are the Tread+ model. Peloton will offer customers refunds for the Tread+ due to a risk that children, pets, or objects "can be pulled underneath the rear of the treadmill, posing a risk of injury or death." Owners of the Tread model will additionally have a choice for a repair, with the company listing the hazard with that model as the possibility of the touchscreen detaching and posing a risk of injury.
According to CNBC, Foley also issued this statement:
I want to be clear, Peloton made a mistake in our initial response to the Consumer Product Safety Commission's request that we recall the Tread+. We should have engaged more productively with them from the outset. For that, I apologize.
