It’s Not a Bird, or a Plane: It’s Your Walmart Delivery

Summary

WSJ Tech News Briefing: “It’s Not a Bird, or a Plane: It’s Your Walmart Delivery”

Release Date: March 28, 2025
Host: Victoria Craig, The Wall Street Journal

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1. Elon Musk’s Dual Roles: Balancing Business and Political Ambitions

In this episode, Victoria Craig delves into the multifaceted role of Elon Musk, highlighting his simultaneous responsibilities as the CEO of major companies like Tesla and SpaceX, and his involvement as a political advisor in the Trump White House. This dual engagement has raised concerns among both investors and political analysts.

Tim Higgins, WSJ Columnist, discusses Musk’s impact on his businesses:

"Elon Musk has shown his ability to excite investors about the future, whether it's rockets that go to Mars or electric cars that take over the world. This enthusiasm has propelled Tesla's market share and stock price to record highs." [01:46]

However, Higgins notes a recent decline in investor confidence:

"We have seen that enthusiasm evaporate in some ways in the last few months, in part probably because of Musk's extracurricular activities. But there's also a more core issue at play at Tesla, which is that its sale of vehicles has been falling." [02:00]

He attributes Tesla's challenges to both Musk’s political entanglements and the aging Tesla lineup:

"Tesla's lineup is old. The Model Y, the best-selling car in the world, is getting long in the tooth now the company is updating it, but it's still relatively the same vehicle." [02:45]

2. Musk’s Political Maneuvers and Their Implications

The conversation shifts to Musk's political activities, particularly through his Political Action Committee (PAC), America PAC, which actively supports Republican candidates. Higgins explains the strategic moves of the PAC:

"America PAC is now moving into kind of a new phase. We'll look to Wisconsin for an election involving a Supreme Court judge there." [03:25]

Musk's role in the Beltway includes leading the Department of Government Efficiency, aiming to reduce federal bureaucracy and budgets. However, these efforts have faced significant legal challenges:

"These steps are being challenged by judges around the country. Musk has joined other Republicans in taking to social media to kind of lament this or to challenge the idea that these judges should be able to weigh in on the President's actions or the administration's actions." [04:20]

Higgins highlights the interconnectedness of Musk’s political influence and his business interests, particularly concerning Tesla’s direct-to-consumer sales model, which has led to legal battles with states like Wisconsin:

"Tesla sells their cars directly to customers, and that has put Tesla at odds in a number of states where franchise dealers have a lot of political clout and there are laws on the books." [05:08]

3. Zipline’s Vision for Drone Delivery: Revolutionizing Last-Mile Logistics

Transitioning from Musk’s activities, the briefing explores the future of drone delivery with insights from WSJ tech columnist Christopher Mims and a representative from Zipline, a pioneering drone delivery startup.

Mims introduces Zipline’s ambitions:

"Nighttime stargazing might soon morph into moonlit drone spotting... Zipline is addressing American needs like delivering Walmart merchandise or Chipotle burritos swiftly." [07:20]

A Zipline representative outlines the company’s strategy to mitigate noise pollution:

"All these companies have made sure that their drones are operating literally in a lower register. Zipline's drones never come closer than 300ft to someone's yard because the drone hovers about the length of a football field above its delivery point and lowers a little delivery cooler to the ground." [09:00]

Despite technological advancements, Zipline acknowledges challenges in widespread adoption:

"It's been a design problem as much as anything. It has also, to be fair, been a regulatory problem because the FAA was pretty committed to protecting our lives." [10:15]

Mims raises concerns about urban implementation and public perception:

"There's all these buzzing things in the sky. How does this actually happen in practice? How do they roll this out in a way that really doesn't disrupt life and become sort of dystopian." [10:56]

The Zipline representative responds by emphasizing the company's efforts to minimize visual and auditory disruptions:

"Zipline's drones make the sound of their drones, quote, disappear into the soundscape... They hover high and lower the delivery payload to avoid direct flight paths over residential areas." [11:22]

4. Conclusion

Victoria Craig wraps up the episode by summarizing the intricate dance between Elon Musk’s business ventures and political endeavors, alongside the promising yet challenging future of drone delivery services exemplified by Zipline. The episode underscores the delicate balance innovators must maintain between technological advancement and societal acceptance.

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Notable Contributors:

• Victoria Craig – Host
• Tim Higgins – WSJ Columnist
• Christopher Mims – WSJ Tech Columnist
• Zipline Representative – Guest Speaker

Production Credits: Produced by Julie Chang, with support from Jess Jupiter, Jessica Fenton, Michael Lavalle, Emily Martosi, Aisha El Moussleem, Scott Salloway, Chris Sinsley, and Falana Patterson.

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This comprehensive summary encapsulates the key discussions on Elon Musk’s multifaceted roles and the evolving landscape of drone delivery, providing listeners with insightful analysis and forward-looking perspectives.

Transcript

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[Victoria Craig]

Welcome to Tech News briefing. It's Friday, March 28th. I'm Victoria Craig for the Wall Street Journal. Elon Musk is a billionaire with many hats. What does that mean for his businesses in the age of maga? Then drone delivery might finally be coming to a backyard porch or drop off point near you. We'll chat to our tech columnist about why it's taken so long. First, there's Elon Musk the businessman, and then there's Elon Musk the political advisor. The two have been in constant demand, often pulling the billionaire chief executive of Tesla and SpaceX in two completely different directions. The dual focus has sparked concern among investors of Musk's companies who worry about his long term ability to home in on business matters, and also among political watchers for his quick attempts at dismantling and defunding parts of the US Federal bureaucracy. WSJ columnist Tim Higgins joins us as part of our series looking at Musk's first 100 days in the Trump White House. Tim, how is Musk handling this very demanding task of double duty running huge companies while also being a key presidential advisor?

[Tim Higgins]

One of the things that Elon Musk has shown over the years is his ability to excite investors in his companies about the future that he is promising, whether it's rockets that go to Mars or electric cars that take over the world. And that enthusiasm and excitement has propelled Tesla's market share and its stock price to record highs. We have seen that enthusiasm evaporate in some ways in the last few months, in part probably because of Musk's extracurricular activities. But there's also a more core issue at play at Tesla, and that is that its sale of vehicles has been falling. Some might attribute it to the idea that Tesla has become a more political brand, that Democrats are being turned off. There's also something more basic going on. Tesla's lineup is old. The Model Y, the best selling car in the world, is getting long in the tooth now the company is updating it, but it's still relatively the same vehicle. And so investors are Worried the beginning of April will be a big test for his companies. We'll see Tesla's delivery results for the first three months of the year. That'll be telling. Most analysts are expecting a decline from the fourth quarter. The first quarter is traditionally one of the rougher months for all car companies.

[Christopher Mims]

There's also a couple of other important calendar items coming up in April. This is the local political angle to Musk. His political action committee has been busy shaking hands, knocking on doors for various local races. And that that will be really a test of his brand as not a politician, but a guy who works in politics, right?

[Tim Higgins]

Yeah, absolutely. America pac, the PAC that he created to help win the November election for Donald Trump, is now moving into kind of a new phase. We'll look to Wisconsin for a election involving a Supreme Court judge there. We're also been looking at the ways that he's trying to use his PAC and other races around the country. Musk has been pretty clear that he was going to continue to put money into his pact, in part playing a little bit of a role as enforcer for the Republican Party in congressional races.

[Christopher Mims]

And also, when it comes to Musk's action in the Beltway, we can't forget about Doge, the Department of Government Efficiency, where he has been tasked with slashing the federal bureaucracy and budgets. That's faced several setbacks in the courts very recently, though, bring us up to speed on that and how Musk is reacting to those decisions.

[Tim Higgins]

These steps are being challenged by judges around the country. Musk has joined other Republicans in taking to social media to kind of lament this or to challenge the idea that these judges should be able to kind of weigh in on the President's actions or the administration's actions. It raises questions about the balance of power between the executive branch, the judiciary branch. In Congress, we saw kind of very unusual thing occur when the Chief justice of the Supreme Court put out a statement in this regard about divisions of power, if you will. It's a very, very unusual situation to be kind of watching play out.

[Christopher Mims]

It's not just politically related decisions that are in the courts, but also a development for Tesla's actions in Wisconsin, too.

[Tim Higgins]

The Wisconsin race is interesting. There is a case that's expected to eventually reach the Supreme Court that really addresses a key issue for Tesla. One of the unique things about Tesla is that they sell their cars directly to customers, and that has put Tesla at odds in a number of states where franchise dealers have a lot of political clout and there are laws on the books. That protect that power and prohibit companies from selling directly to customers. So Musk and Tesla for many years now have been fighting this battle at a state by state level, and Wisconsin is one of those places. So it is interesting to watch how Musk is using trying to use some of his political power to sway things in an election that may potentially be relevant to one of his companies. Now, it's not clear that the candidate's backing would go for him in a decision, but still, it does highlight how Musk and his political power and his companies are intertwined.

[Victoria Craig]

That was WSJ columnist Tim Higgins. Coming up, why are people in Arkansas gathering at a local Walmart to gaze.

[Christopher Mims]

Up at the night sky?

[Victoria Craig]

The answer after the break.

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[Victoria Craig]

Nighttime stargazing might soon morph into moonlit drone spotting. That's if one drone delivery startup's foray into package and food delivery is as successful as it wants it to be. WSJ tech columnist Christopher Mims talked to folks at the company called Zipline. Christopher, we've been told for what feels like years and years that drones will deliver our latest online order right to.

[Christopher Mims]

Our front porches or our backyard yards. I don't know about you, but I'm still waiting.

[Victoria Craig]

Is Zipline really going to make this a widespread reality?

[Zipline Representative]

Yes. The startup called Zipline thinks that they're going to make it a widespread reality. I tend to believe them just because they have some deep pocketed competitors who also say they're going to make it a widespread reality. And they include Amazon and Wing, which is sister company to Google. Zipline is different in that they have been doing drone delivery for so long. If you haven't heard of them, it's because you don't live in Rwanda where they deliver the overwhelming majority of medicines and blood products from centralized blood banks. One study said that they had slashed maternal mortality across the entire country just by delivering blood all over the country with their original drone, which looked like a small remote controlled airplane, fixed wings, not like the drones we think of, like a little airplane which could fly long distances. And now they have a new drone. And this new drone is going to be addressing a much more American need, which is it's game day and you need merch from Walmart right away, or you need a burrito from Chipotle, who's one of their partners.

[Victoria Craig]

When it comes to drone delivery, there.

[Christopher Mims]

Are a lot of other concerns aside from just, can it happen?

[Victoria Craig]

There are also concerns about noise pollution.

[Christopher Mims]

In a lot of places that already see a lot of air traffic. How does Zipline and even its other competitors think about that when it comes to the future of drone delivery in.

[Zipline Representative]

America, all the drone companies claim to have done a great deal to address noise of their drones. One thing that has impressed me is you typical drones, they're pretty noxious. Like, if you're seeing a photography drone fly around, it's very annoying. And it's partly because the pitch of its rotors is in a frequency that humans find uniquely offensive. It's like the same pitch as, like, a mosquito wings or something. So all these companies have made sure that their drones are operating literally in a lower register. And they've also done a great deal to their propellers to make them quieter and as one person at Amazon told me, you know, make the sound of their drones, quote, unquote, disappear into the soundscape. Zipline, specifically, their drones never come closer than 300ft to someone's yard because the drone hovers about the length of a football field above its delivery point and lowers a little delivery cooler to the ground, which then dumps your package right there on the ground.

[Christopher Mims]

Why hasn't drone delivery caught on? Is it just that it is really difficult to roll it out in parts of America? Is it that the technology hasn't really been there yet? What's the biggest reason?

[Zipline Representative]

It's been a design problem as much as anything. It has also, to be fair, been a regulatory problem because the faa, of course, at least until recently, was pretty committed to protecting our lives, and they were really skittish about allowing fully autonomous robots to just pepper our skies. So there's really been a dance between the industry and regulators where they're building trust, and these companies are showing, hey, we can run what is a mini airline in the sky and minimize or eliminate accidents altogether. That's a big job, because if it falls out of the sky, that's bad news.

[Christopher Mims]

You have this anecdote in the story about how locals in Pea Ridge, Arkansas, where Zipline delivers for Walmart, sort of gather in the parking lot lot and just watch these drones light up the sky. But I'm thinking it maybe more from a New York City perspective. There's all these buzzing things in the sky. How does this actually happen in practice? How do they roll this out in a way that really doesn't disrupt life and become sort of dystopian.

[Zipline Representative]

I think the answer to that question is how much does it offend you to look up at the night sky and see dozens of blinking lights zipping back and forth? I mean, it's gonna be like living under an airport or being somewhere rural and looking up in the night sky and thinking you're seeing a shooting star. But really it's just one of Elon Musk's thousands of starlink satellites. I think that concerns about kind of visual pollution are legitimate.

[Victoria Craig]

That was WSJ tech columnist Christopher Mims. And that's it for Tech News Briefing. Today's show was produced by Julie Chang. I'm your host, Victoria Craig. Additional support this week from Jess Jupiter, Jessica Fenton and Michael Lavalle wrote our theme music. Our supervising producer is Emily Martosi. Our development producer is Aisha El Moussleem. Scott Salloway and Chris Sinsley are the deputy editors. And Falana Patterson is the Wall Street Journal's head of news audio. We'll be back this afternoon with TNV Tech Minute. Thanks for listening.

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