When is an asteroid not an asteroid? When it's Elon Musk's Tesla Roadster, it turns out.
The wannabe asteroid, announced on Jan. 2 as 2018 CN41, is actually a Tesla Roadster launched into space years ago by SpaceX CEO Elon Musk. The company sent the car (with a spacesuit-clad mannequin called "Starman" in the driver's seat) into a long orbit around the sun in 2018 as the first payload of the company's Falcon Heavy rocket.
Asteroid turns out to be Musk's Tesla Roadster launched in 2018 | The Sky Guy
Catch Tallahassee Astronomical Society’s free planetarium show “February Skies over Tallahassee,” at the Fogg Planetarium on Feb. 1.
Asteroid? Nope, It’s Elon Musk’s Tesla Roadster Cruising Through Space
Less than 24 hours after the Minor Planet Center announced a new asteroid, it said the object was actually Musk's electric car launched into space as payload on a rocket.
Astronomers Thought They Had Found A Dangerous Asteroid Near Earth — It Was Elon Musk’s Tesla Roadster
The “asteroid” wasn’t a space rock after all. It was a cherry-red Tesla Roadster that Elon Musk launched into space to much fanfare in 2018 as part of a publicity stunt during the maiden flight of SpaceX’s Falcon Heavy rocket. The car, complete with a mannequin named “Starman” in the driver’s seat, had been orbiting the Sun ever since.
Newly discovered ‘asteroid’ near Earth turns out to be Elon Musk’s Tesla car
Newly discovered ‘asteroid’ near Earth turns out to be Elon Musk’s Tesla car - Cherry-red Tesla Roadster was launched in 2018 during SpaceX Falcon Heavy’s inaugural flight
Space object or sports car? How a Tesla Roadster was briefly mistaken for an asteroid
What an amateur astronomer recently took to be a newly-discovered asteroid turned out to be a Tesla Roadster voyaging through the cosmos.
Elon Musk's Tesla mistaken for asteroid in near-Earth collision scare
However, the Minor Planet Center (MPC), the agency responsible for cataloging asteroids, quickly retracted the classification after determining that the object was actually Elon Musk’s Tesla Roadster, which was sent into space aboard SpaceX’s inaugural Falcon Heavy flight.
Astronomers are furious with Elon Musk: «space» Tesla Roadster misidentified as asteroid 2018 CN41
On January 2, the Minor Planet Center announced the discovery of the unique asteroid 2018 CN41, but soon had to remove the object from the official li
Newly discovered asteroid turns out to be Tesla Roadster launched into space
Astronomers mistook a Tesla Roadster that was launched into orbit in 2018 for an asteroid earlier this month. The registry of what was thought to be an asteroid was soon deleted.
Elon Musk's Tesla Roadster Still Out In Space 7 Years Later
Musk's car was accidentally and briefly classified as an asteroid in 2025. The International Astronomical Union's Minor Planet Center issued a bulletin on Jan. 2 announcing 2018 CN41 as a newly discovered near-Earth object.
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An Amateur Astronomer Seemingly Spotted a New Asteroid. It Turned Out to Be a Tesla in Space
The car, launched in 2018 on a SpaceX rocket’s upper stage, is one of many human-made objects in deep space that could ...
Mystery 'asteroid' in Earth's orbit is something completely different – and it's Musk's fault
Major astronomy body the Minor Planet Centre (MPC) was forced to list the discovery - made by a citizen scientist - as ...
‘New asteroid’ turns out to be Tesla car shot to space in 2018
The rocket launched into orbit on February 6, 2018, as part of a publicity stunt while the Falcon Heavy was being tested.