Less than 24 hours after the International Astronomical Union’s Minor Planet Center announced the discovery of a new asteroid, they said it was actually Musk's car.

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.

The case of mistaken identity was quickly resolved, but astronomers say it shows the need for transparency around craft in deep space.

Avi Loeb shares the story of how a Tesla Roadster had some astronomers convinced for a time that they had discovered a new asteroid.

In 2018, it was a big deal that Elon Musk launched his personal Tesla Roadster into space. Behind the wheel is “Starman,” a mannequin dressed as an astronaut made to look like he’s driving the EV around our planet. The Roadster and Starman are still out there, with no clear destination or return-to-Earth date.

The rocket launched into orbit on February 6, 2018, as part of a publicity stunt while the Falcon Heavy was being tested. Musk’s old car was fitted with a mannequin wearing a white spacesuit sitting in the driver’s seat named Starman.

Musk launched his personal Tesla Roadster into space on February 6, 2018, as a test payload for the Falcon Heavy rocket.

A brand new mysterious 'asteroid' is causing confusion after it was spotted and submitted by an amateur astronomer, before being designated 2018 CN41. It was less than 150,000 miles (240,000 km) away from Planet Earth which qualifies it as a near-Earth object (NEO),