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 have retracted the discovery of a new asteroid after realizing the object was the remains of Elon Musk's Tesla Roadster and its driver "Starman," which were launched into space in 2018.

In 2018, during the launch of the SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket, Elon Musk sent a Tesla Roadster into space, which later led to some confusion.