Newly discovered ‘asteroid’ near Earth turns out to be Elon Musk’s car - Cherry-red Tesla Roadster was launched in 2018 during SpaceX Falcon Heavy’s inaugural flight

Major astronomy body the Minor Planet Centre (MPC) was forced to list the discovery - made by a citizen scientist - as "omitted" following a case of mistaken identity

A near-Earth "asteroid" recently spotted by astronomers poring through telescope data has turned out to be Elon Musk's car. On January 2, the International Astronomical Union's Minor Planet Center announced the discovery of a new asteroid.

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),

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

Earlier this month, an amateur astronomer stumbled upon what appeared to be a newly discovered near-Earth object (NEO). The “asteroid,” designated 2018 CN41, came alarmingly close to Earth — closer than the Moon’s orbit.

Instead of using traditional test cargo like concrete or steel blocks, Elon Musk chose his personal Tesla Roadster to make the mission more memorable. The car has been drifting th