Kade is a small German village about an hour west of Berlin. The area reportedly has quite the pest problem, but rather than tossing them in the trash, one entrepreneur found a more sustainable solution: eat'em.

Raccoons were brought to Germany in the 1920s and used on fur farms. The trash pandas were first released into the wild in 1934, and now the country is reportedly overrun by some 2 million raccoons. They are an invasive species, negatively impacting local habitats, species and ecosystems. So, local officials had few options; the raccoons had to die. However, one local butcher, Michael Reiss, wanted to do it in the most sustainable way possible, and he wound up making raccoon meatballs, jarred meat, salami, bratwurst and liver sausage, among other products, at Wildererhütte, his butcher shop.

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The Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship (IDALS) announced that it received permission from a court to kill approximately 1.3 million broiler chickens previously owned by a Minnesota poultry processor. The department added that it concluded depopulation on October 25.

The decision comes after the chickens’ previous owner, Pure Prairie Poultry, filed for bankruptcy at the end of September, attributing their position to pandemic-influenced supply chain issues and low chicken prices. Minnesota and Iowa station KIMT News 3 reported that the company owed debtors between $100 million and $500 million.

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Many automakers have been shifting toward touchscreens embedded in their vehicles’ dashboards and away from dedicated physical buttons. While it may enable more potential features, it could also make driving less safe and possibly more annoying. But one company makes it sound like touchscreens are here to stay, at least until the industry moves onto the new thing.

Wassym Bensaid, chief software officer at EV maker Rivian, spoke this week at TechCrunch Disrupt 2024 and addressed in-vehicle buttons, calling them an “anomaly.”

“It’s a bug. It’s not a feature,” he told the crowd. “Ideally, you would want to interact with your car through voice. The problem today is that most voice assistants are just broken.”

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It’s not a common configuration, but sometimes you just need to push the envelope.

That was the thought of Ferrari engineers when they dabbled with the idea of designing the new F80 with just one seat.

In a recent interview with Ferrari marketing head Enrico Galliera, Top Gear unveiled the development behind the F80, a supercar Forbes describes as Ferrari's “fiercest ever.”

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While Boeing's past in the space industry is undeniable, it's the company's present and future that's the problem. Most notably, the aerospace giant's cash issues have the company looking to raise $19 billion in a stock offering while still pursuing other sources of revenue. The companylost $6 billion in the third quarter and has already begunselling off assets, like the deal that sent small defense subsidiary, Digital Receiver Technology, to Thales Defense & Security last week.

Following the mixed success that saw Boeing's Starliner capsule reach the International Space Station, butreturn empty, the Wall Street Journalreports that the company's entire space division might be on the block.

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Welcome to another episode of Gen Z in Manufacturing, a podcast where I interview young people about their journeys in manufacturing, how they intend to influence the industry and what they are looking for from an employer.

For this episode, I welcome Jacob Sanchez, a 25-year-old employee for Industry Solutions and Community Development at igus Inc.

Sanchez is an industry awareness and next generation advocate for skilled trades and manufacturing. With 10-plus years of hands-on experience in manufacturing and automation sectors, he works to revolutionize how manufacturers showcase their companies to the world, and how to generate employee autonomy.

Sanchez also hosts “HOW TO,” a metalworking series on YouTube.

Sanchez aims to create a community of solution driven professionals that want to utilize low cost automation to stay competitive and move ever closer to Industry 4.0 and says his main focus is always on the inclusion of new talent, no matter their backgrounds.

German eVTOL jet maker Lilium announced that it is ceasing operations for its two subsidiaries, citing a lack of funding and an inability to pay its existing debts. As a result, the company plans to file for insolvency and will apply for self-administration proceedings.

The development comes seven years after Lilium’s first test flight and two years before it planned to begin deliveries. The company had already compiled a list of potential customers, including Saudi Arabia with an order for up to 100 jets and American advanced air mobility company UrbanLink with an order for 20 aircraft.

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Way back in September 2020, Tesla CEO Elon Musk planted the idea of a “compelling” $25,000 electric vehicle. The promise came as the company worked to reduce the cost and boost the range for its EV batteries.

That attractive price point has been a lingering idea for Tesla in the years since Musk threw out the figure during a “Battery Day” event. But this week, during the company’s third quarter earnings call, Musk called a regular $25,000 Tesla model “pointless” and “silly.”

“Like, it'll be completely at odds with what we believe,” he told investors.

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