Oct 22, 2018

Uber eyes liftoff for food-delivery drones

Axios

Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi speaking to a journalist at the Uber Elevate Summit. Photo: Robyn Beck/AFP via Getty Images

Ride-sharing giant Uber is hiring an operations executive to help roll out a commercially-viable fleet of food-delivery drones by 2021, reports the Wall Street Journal.

The big picture: A spokesman told the WSJ the program is "still in very early days," but Uber's push to take to the skies reflects its efforts to diversify beyond just ride-hailing. Last week, the company announced it would be adding a new tractor-trailer rental business as it gears up for a 2019 IPO that could reportedly be worth as much as $120 billion.

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Coronavirus dashboard

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  1. Global: Total confirmed cases as of 3 a.m. ET: 786,291 — Total deaths: 37,820 — Total recoveries: 166,088.
  2. U.S.: Leads the world in confirmed cases. Total confirmed cases as of 3 a.m. ET: 164,620 — Total deaths: 3,170— Total recoveries: 5,943.
  3. Federal government latest: The White House will extend its social distancing guidelines until April 30.
  4. State updates: Rural-state governors say testing is still inadequate, contradicting Trump — Virginia, Maryland and D.C. issue stay-at-home orders to residents, joining 28 other states.
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