CPSC Warns Consumers: Stop Using the Peloton Tread+ https://t.co/A59Nb5vLde pic.twitter.com/znbNxM3gZM
— US Consumer Product Safety Commission (@USCPSC) April 19, 2021
After US safety regulators told owners of Peloton Interactive Inc’s (Nasdaq: PTON) Tread+ treadmill to stop using the machine after one child died and nearly 40 others were injured, the fitness company’s chief executive officer, John Foley, said the product is safe and has no plans to recall it.
On Saturday, the US Consumer Product Safety Commission said it is aware of at least 39 accidents involving the $4,295 treadmill, including “multiple reports of children becoming entrapped, pinned and pulled under” the machine.
“CPSC staff believes the Peloton Tread+ poses serious risks to children for abrasions, fractures, and death,” the agency said in its warning, posted on Twitter and its website.
The release also included a video that shows two toddlers playing on a treadmill, with one getting pulled under the machine while trying to play with a ball that was caught beneath it.
“In light of multiple reports of children becoming entrapped, pinned, and pulled under the rear roller of the product, CPSC urges consumers with children at home to stop using the product immediately.”
A separate report of a pet being sucked beneath the Tread+, along with inanimate objects getting pulled beneath it, “also suggest possible harm to the user if the user loses balance,” the CPSC said.
The agency also recommended that, for consumers insisting on using the treadmill, it should be used "only in a locked room, to prevent access to children and pets."
The CPSC also urged consumers to "store the safety key away from the device and out of reach of children."
The warning came a month after the New York-based company acknowledged that a child died in an incident involving the treadmill and the CPSC said it would be investigating the fatality.
Saturday’s statement prompted a strongly worded response from Foley, who claimed the federal watchdog agency’s notice is “misleading” and “inaccurate.”
On Sunday, Foley said Peloton has “fully cooperated with CPSC” except with a request for “personally identifiable information of certain members” because those users asked their information not be shared with the agency.
"At no time was Peloton trying to impede CPSC's investigation," Foley said. "We were simply standing behind our members' right to maintain their privacy, and we remain committed to providing this type of information only with a member's consent or pursuant to a subpoena."
Foley said that Peloton has "no intention" of stopping sales of the Tread+ and reiterated the company's previous messages of keeping the machine away from children under 16 years old and pets. He also said there is “no reason” to stop using the machine if safety instructions, such as using its safety key correctly, are followed.
According to Foley, Peloton instructors are now reminding users at the start of their streaming classes of safety instructions and the company is developing a software update that will “provide an additional later of protection against unwanted use of the Tread+.”
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Source: Equities News
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