I saw that yesterday while I was digging around - does not inspire confidence. They also had a recall of 50 gal units similar to mine built prior to 2016 over burner mesh issues, but mine was built in 2018 so no free heater for me.AO Smith has a history.
https://www.cunninghambounds.com/blog/2007/october/-50-million-awarded-in-water-heater-death-case/
Be careful