Tread+ Update from Peloton CEO John Foley: No plans for Peloton Tread+ recall, Backup Access Code being added

Yesterday the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) issued a public safety warning regarding the Peloton Tread+. This was the culmination of an investigation that began due to a tragic fatal accident involving a child and the Peloton Tread+.

As soon as the CPSC issued their warning, Peloton has been forcibly pushing back on this. A press released posted by Peloton yesterday characterized the warning as a “unilateral press release about the Peloton Tread+ because it is inaccurate and misleading. ”

Today, Peloton’s CEO John Foley sent an email to owners of the Peloton Tread+, providing some further thoughts on the safety warning.

In the letter, he points out Peloton initiated a report to the CPSC, and has been cooperating with them. Peloton had withheld identifying some members involved based on the member’s requests – only doing so once required by a subpoena.

He goes on in the letter to clarify that Peloton has no plans to initiate a safety recall of the Tread+, or stop sales (emphasis ours):

You may also have read news reports suggesting that CPSC believes that we should stop selling or recall the Tread+. I want to assure you that we have no intention of doing so. The Tread+ is safe when our warnings and safety instructions are followed, and we know that, every day, thousands of Members enjoy working out safely on their Tread+.

Following this, John Foley does remind users to be mindful of safety while using the Tread+:

But I urge you to stay vigilant. Remember, the Tread+ is not for children under 16, and children, pets, and objects need to be kept away from the Tread+ at all times. When the Tread+ is not in use, store the Safety Key away from the Tread+ and out of reach of children. Our Tread instructors remind us at the beginning and end of each class to keep these safety instructions top of mind. In addition, many of you have chimed in on social media in recent weeks to share helpful tips, such as working out during naptime, having someone watch the kids while you work out, or using a baby gate to keep children, pets, and objects away. Thank you for sharing those suggestions with our community.

He wraps up the letter by sharing that the Peloton team is working on a new safety feature for the Tread+ – the addition of an access code so that even if the safety key is left in, the Tread+ won’t be able to start unless the access code is entered. This access code can be added with a software update, so can be automatically rolled out to all Tread+ users.

Finally, I’m proud to share that our Tread+ product team is working on a new software-enabled, backup access code that will provide an additional layer of protection against unwanted use of the Tread+. We are working hard to roll this out soon! We will continue to look for new ways to maintain our goal of leading the industry in safety and Member experience.

While this should help with anyone accidentally starting the Tread+ in the case of a safety key not being removed – it won’t help with objects, pets, or children being sucked under the Tread+ while it is in active use – thus his reminder above about potentially using baby gates.

You can read the full letter below, or on Peloton’s website here

Last month, I wrote to remind everyone about our important warnings and safety instructions after we learned about the tragic accident involving a Tread+ where a child died. Today, I want to thank our incredible Member community for your tremendous response. Many of you offered tips for working out safely at home, and I want to share a few of those suggestions and make sure you know that our teams are working on ways to make it easier to follow our instructions for the safe operation of your Tread+.


Before I do that, I want to let you know what’s happened in the past month. After we learned about the child’s death, we immediately reported to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC). Since then we have fully cooperated with CPSC and responded to all of their requests, with one exception: we resisted their demands for personally identifiable information of certain Members because those Members had specifically requested that we not provide that information to CPSC. At no time was Peloton trying to impede CPSC’s investigation. 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. Government agencies shouldn’t have unfettered access to consumers’ private information, and I am proud that we took a stand to protect these Members’ privacy.


I imagine some Members asked for their information to be protected in order to avoid personal attacks like some that we’ve seen in response to the Tread+ incidents that CPSC publicized yesterday. Our hearts go out to Members who have had an incident where a child or pet was injured and who want their privacy at this time. As a parent myself, I hope that our Peloton community continues to treat each other with respect and compassion.


You may also have read news reports suggesting that CPSC believes that we should stop selling or recall the Tread+. I want to assure you that we have no intention of doing so. The Tread+ is safe when our warnings and safety instructions are followed, and we know that, every day, thousands of Members enjoy working out safely on their Tread+.


But I urge you to stay vigilant. Remember, the Tread+ is not for children under 16, and children, pets, and objects need to be kept away from the Tread+ at all times. When the Tread+ is not in use, store the Safety Key away from the Tread+ and out of reach of children. Our Tread instructors remind us at the beginning and end of each class to keep these safety instructions top of mind. In addition, many of you have chimed in on social media in recent weeks to share helpful tips, such as working out during naptime, having someone watch the kids while you work out, or using a baby gate to keep children, pets, and objects away. Thank you for sharing those suggestions with our community.


Finally, I’m proud to share that our Tread+ product team is working on a new software-enabled, backup access code that will provide an additional layer of protection against unwanted use of the Tread+. We are working hard to roll this out soon! We will continue to look for new ways to maintain our goal of leading the industry in safety and Member experience.


As always, everyone at Peloton cares deeply about your health and wellness, including your safety and privacy. If you have any questions or concerns please reach out to our Support team at support@onepeloton.com or 844-410-0141 and one of our team members will gladly assist you.


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Chris Lewis
Chris Lewis is the creator & founder of Pelo Buddy. He purchased his Peloton in 2018, and uses all the different devices: Peloton Bike, Tread, Row, and Guide. He has been involved in the fitness industry for more than a decade - previously co-founding the websites Mud Run Guide & Ninja Guide. You can find him on the leaderboard at #PeloBuddy.

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