16-05-2025
DoorDash's new drone delivered my Cheerwine. Here's how it worked
South Charlotte is now one of the few places in America where you can have your takeover dropped off (literally) on your front lawn by drone.
Why it matters: Let's be real. The Charlotte suburbs aren't exactly the first place in the U.S. you'd think of for introducing the technology of the future.
However, North Carolina is becoming a national leader in drone integration because of its favorable state policies. And south Charlotte has many features that DoorDash and its partner, Google's drone company Wing, look for in a successful market:
Vast shopping center parking lots to dock drones, busy families craving convenience, fast population growth and traffic you sometimes wish you could fly over.
How it works: DoorDash offered to show me the delivery on Wednesday, when the service launched.
I placed an order around 1:34pm at a home near The Arboretum, about a five-minute drive away. You can only order if your address is within about four miles of the shopping center.
Orders must fit within a certain weight, about 2.5 pounds — think a hamburger, drink and fries.
I received an estimated arrival time of 1:46pm to 1:57pm. Wing says orders typically take as little as 15 minutes.
While I waited, a DoorDash worker grabbed my order and walked it across the Arboretum parking lot to attach it to a drone at the "nest." That's the station where the drones charge, take off and land in a parking lot.
The drone then climbs to about 200 feet and zips at around 65 miles per hour. Pilots based in Dallas monitor the weather and conditions, but the drones fly themselves.
By 1:42pm, I heard my drone buzzing overhead. It lowered and gently dropped the package with a tether. Then, it zoomed back to land in one of the chargers.
My ice cream was still frozen, Cheerwine cold and a cookie intact.
By the numbers: The order was $14.99, including tax and a $2.99 service fee. DoorDash is currently waiving the drone delivery fee, but I'm told the price will be generally similar to a driver.
You won't be asked to tip the drone, so you're saving money there.
Zoom out: Drone delivery is huge in the Dallas metro because of Wing's partnership with DoorDash and Walmart. The only other place in the U.S. where DoorDash delivers via drone is Christiansburg, Virginia.
Jesse Suskin, Wing's head of corporate affairs, tells me drone deliveries are the new normal in those places: "People don't blink. No different than a Toyota Camry driving by."
What they're saying: Wing executives pitch drone delivery as one of the safest, fastest, most economically viable and environmentally friendly ways to deliver packages.
"Even going into The Arboretum, on a busy day, you might be sitting at that light once or twice before you can make that left turn in," Suskin says.
He says drones are less expensive than a car, and you'd use more power to boil water for pasta than to have the box delivered by drone.
"Does it make sense to use a sedan to drive four miles and only have a cheeseburger in the front seat?" Suskin says.
Yes, but: Are robots taking our jobs?
Wing and DoorDash executives argue that drones will complement drivers, not replace them. Drivers are freed up for more complex deliveries, like family meals and longer distances, with higher earnings, says Harrison Shih, head of product for DoorDash's robotics and automation arm.
They also expect the drone service to boost small business profits and create new jobs within those restaurants.
And no, Wing has never had any food fall from the sky.
The packages are secured in the drones in multiple ways. There are also more propellers than needed to fly and backup batteries.
"Because we're regulated by the FAA, we have to make a safety case very similar to that of traditional aviation," Suskin says. "It's not to say that accidents will never happen. But they will be rare."
What's next: DoorDash plans to expand drone delivery to more Charlotte neighborhoods later this year. With the first site set up, it should be relatively easy to scale the operation and pop up more sites like the one at The Arboretum.
"It's really just an area for the drones to take off and land. That's not too difficult to find, say, in shopping centers or Walmart parking lots," Suskin says. "The infrastructure is pretty straightforward."
The bottom line: The future is here.
"You'll see this become part of normal life sooner than later," Suskin says.
How to order: Check your address here to see if you're in range.
