May 11, 2026 - Amazon has announced that it will no longer sell e-bikes in California that exceed state speed limits, following a consumer alert issued by California Attorney General Rob Bonta last month reports KCRA 3.
Bonta, along with Marin County District Attorney Lori Frugoli, San Francisco District Attorney Brooke Jenkins, and San Mateo County District Attorney Steve Wagstaffe issued a consumer alert on April 14/26 to remind manufacturers, retailers, consumers, and parents that California has important safety laws regarding the sale and use of e-bikes – read the full notice here.
“Two-wheeled vehicles that go over 28 miles per hour with pedal assistance or 20 miles per hour with throttle assistance are not e-bikes — under California law, they are mopeds or motorcycles and require additional licensing and age requirements to operate and sell. Importantly, modifying an e-bike to exceed the speed or power limits mentioned above is dangerous, may transform the e-bike into a motorcycle or moped under California law, and may be a crime if riders do not have appropriate licenses.”
Following a search on Amazon, KCRA 3 Investigates contacted the global online seller, as their search revealed numerous listings for e-bikes advertised with speeds over 40 miles per hour. Amazon responded, stating that it is now requiring all e-bikes sold by third-party sellers to comply with state laws, regulations, and Amazon policies.
According to the report, the company said it has removed the examples provided and is investigating compliance for similar products – watch the news report here.
“This is exactly the kind of enforcement the legal e-bike industry has been calling for. Illegal e-motos falsely marketed as e-bikes are the real public safety problem — and our existing laws, applied seriously, can do something about it,” writes Brett Thurber, the co-owner at The New Wheel on LinkedIn. The New Wheel is an e-bike retailer in San Francisco with three locations.
Thurber points to two bills recently introduced to the California legislature as the wrong approach. “This is also exactly why AB 1557 and AB 1942 by Assemblymembers Diane Papan, Buffy Wicks, Matt Haney, and Damon Connolly are the wrong approach. Capping the wattage of legal e-bikes won’t pull a single illegal e-moto off Amazon. Forcing law-abiding riders to register their bikes with the DMV won’t either. What both bills will do is make legal e-bikes harder to buy and ride for the working families, parents, and commuters across California who rely on them every day.”
Yet two other bills AB 2284 (Dixon), which directs the AG to publish a list of noncompliant e-motos, and SB 1167 (Catherine S. Blakespear ), which properly classifies e-motos as motor vehicles requiring registration, insurance, and dealer licensing, are on “the right path: enforcement against bad actors. Apply DMV rules to the actual motor vehicles. Leave legal e-bikes alone. That’s how you protect the public without decimating ridership and driving up prices,” says Thurber.
Read more here, and on LinkedIn here and about Bills AB 1557 and AB 1942 here.
