(Reuters) -Peloton said on Wednesday it was recalling its Tread and Tread+ treadmills, reversing course after Chief Executive Officer John Foley earlier urged owners of its machines only to check safety warnings following the death of a child in an accident.
Peloton’s shares fell as much as 8.8% to $88.12.
The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) in April warned consumers about the dangers of Peloton’s Tread+ treadmills after reports of dozens of incidents of children being sucked beneath the treadmill.
In response, Peloton called CPSC’s warning about its Tread+ “inaccurate and misleading”, arguing there was no reason for children above 16 to stop using the machine.
“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+,” Foley said in a statement https://www.cpsc.gov/Newsroom/News-Releases/2021/CPSC-and-Peloton-Announce-Recall-of-Tread-Plus-Treadmills-After-One-Child-Death-and-70-Incidents-Recall-of-Tread-Treadmills-Due-to-Risk-of-Injury.
“We should have engaged more productively with them from the outset. For that, I apologize”.
Peloton is issuing recalls for both its Tread and Tread+ treadmills, and has also stopped sale and distribution of the Tread+. (https://bit.ly/3gYdZpg)
(Reporting by Shariq Khan and Ankit Ajmera in Bengaluru; Editing by Shounak Dasgupta)
