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.

"Hopefully there’s no traffic! [laughing emoji]." Check out even more hilarious reactions below: "Imagine you’re flying through space years from now and you come across this [

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.

Researchers have admitted to mistakenly identifying Elon Musk's car as a near-Earth asteroid, highlighting the importance accurate space tracking.

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

The Minor Planet Center (MPC) deleted the new asteroid from its records just hours after announcing the discovery after realizing the object was actually a cherry-red Tesla Roadster

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.