A Tesla Drive Shocks Astronomers Worldwide

The Tesla saga is written on the road but also in space with SpaceX and Starlink. But the latest episode is quite spicy.

On January 2, the Minor Planet Center (MPC), based at the Smithsonian Observatory in Cambridge, announced the discovery of an unusual asteroid, named 2018 CN41. This object, initially identified by an amateur astronomer, had an orbit particularly close to Earth, within less than 240,000 km. This distance was enough to classify the object as a near-Earth object, potentially posing a threat to our planet.

However, less than 17 hours after this announcement, the MPC issued a surprising correction: 2018 CN41 was not an asteroid but… a car. It was actually Elon Musk’s Tesla Roadster, launched into space in 2018 aboard a Falcon Heavy rocket during its maiden flight. This vehicle, accompanied by a mannequin nicknamed Starman, had been placed in solar orbit as a test payload.

This confusion was quickly resolved thanks to collaboration between amateur and professional astronomers. When you consider that several sites track the Roadster’s position in real time, yet none drew a parallel with this alert… This episode highlights a growing problem—the lack of transparency regarding artificial objects in deep space, which remains largely unregulated. This absence of tracking can lead to mistakes like this, resulting in wasted scientific efforts or even erroneous analyses of asteroid risks.

Hello Houston…

The Tesla incident is not unique. In the past, space missions like Rosetta or abandoned rocket stages have been temporarily mistaken for asteroids. The MPC, the main organization responsible for cataloging celestial bodies, has long called for the creation of a central database compiling information on all artificial objects in deep space. Such a resource would help prevent these errors and better guide astronomers’ efforts.

Despite this confusion, the incident underscores the importance of citizen science. Amateur astronomers play a key role in discovering and identifying objects in our solar system. The Tesla Roadster episode also reminds us of the need for better coordination between space agencies and scientific organizations to ensure safer and more efficient space exploration. Meanwhile, amateurs continue to scan the skies, dreaming of finding not a car but a genuine cosmic mystery.