These days, the big boys on the throne are focusin’ on the drone. Food delivery drones by Uber that it is.
The Wall Street Journal reports that, according to a job listing on Uber’s website, the company’s seeking an operations executive to help make delivery drones commercially operational by 2021.
In other words, Uber plans to have drones in the air, dropping Big Macs into the mitts of consumers in as little as 3 years.
Has Uber ‘jumped the shark’?
Uber is desperate to make itself look like it has the makings of a profitable public company as it eyes a 2019 IPO — and revamp its reputation as a public-friendly brand.
UberExpress — the drone delivery initiative’s internal name — reeks of the work of a PR team crafting a fun, positive narrative around a company that just spent the last few scandal-plagued years undermining community trust.
Then again, drone beggars can’t be drone choosers…
UberEats has been a bright spot for the company as it continues to expand into hundreds of markets, and some banks have valued it at $20B alone.
And, hey, if someone wants to airlift us appetizers, who are we to judge?
Uber’s goal to drone out by 2021 now rests in the hands of the Federal Aviation Administration (currently developing drone regulations). But, Uber knows where its priorities lie: “We need flying burgers,” CEO Dara Khosrowshahi said at the company’s flying-taxi conference in May.
