Ducati North America CEO says he hopes motorcycles never become self-driving

Jason Chinnock, Ducati's North America CEO, said he hopes motorcycles never become self-driving. He has been with the Italian luxury motorcycle company for over 20 years and has led its North American operations for a decade, and he said being a motorcyclist is a core part of his identity.

A self-driving motorcycle would "take away the entire reason to ride a motorcycle," he said. Chinnock contrasted autonomous cars and Ducati bikes, noting that autonomous cars are useful for mobility because they transport people in a "safe, smooth, efficient, and carefree way." Ducati, he added, is different: "We are not building mobility.

We're building motorcycles. We're building something for joy and for fun." He said if autonomy removes the ability to operate and experience a bike, "then just get in a pod and go from point A to point B." There are no commercially available self-driving motorcycles, though some companies, such as Japan's Yamaha and the Singapore-headquartered Omoway, have started work on self-balancing bikes.

ducati, jason chinnock, north america, motorcycles, self-driving, autonomous cars, self-balancing, yamaha, omoway, ceo