Curious discovery in space New asteroid turns out to be a Tesla vehicle

A newly discovered asteroid? Not quite. Just 17 hours after it was added to the list of near-Earth objects, "2018 CN41" was removed again - because it is a flying Tesla.

As reported by "20 Minuten", the Minor Planet Center (MPC) of the International Astronomical Union added a new object to its list of near-Earth asteroids at the beginning of January. In short: a new asteroid was discovered - name: "2018 CN41".

But just 17 hours after publication, the entry was deleted again. What had happened? According to the MPC, it had been determined "that the orbit corresponds to an artificial object".

This is because the orbit of the supposed asteroid matches that of "2018-017A". The object therefore already exists - and has already been in the spotlight. This is because "2018-017A" is nothing other than a vehicle launched into space by Tesla boss Elon Musk.

Space Tesla with a mannequin at the wheel

It was a red Tesla Roadster that was launched into space on February 6, 2018 as a test payload for the maiden launch of SpaceX's Falcon Heavy rocket. The SpaceX company is also owned by Musk.

As the company announced at the time, a mannequin called "Starman" is sitting at the wheel of the space Tesla, allegedly listening to the David Bowie song "Space Oddity" incessantly.

There are apparently no plans to bring the car back to earth. The condition of the car is also unclear, as is its exact location. There is apparently no tracker. Experts warn that such mix-ups can lead to costly mistakes without better monitoring. For example, if a probe were sent out to investigate the object.