The reason was simple, if at first nonsensical: The object not only was definitely not an asteroid, but wasn't any sort of space object at all. Rather, it was a cherry-red Tesla Roadster.

Elon Musk's cherry-red Tesla Roadster — which the CEO blasted into space back in 2018 aboard SpaceX's Falcon Heavy rocket — is currently doing a flyby near the red planet, according to SpaceX.

But just two days later, the mistake was revealed—the supposed asteroid was actually a cherry-red Tesla Roadster, famously launched into space by SpaceX in 2018. Also read ...

Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk announced the launch of the Falcon Heavy rocket on Twitter back in December. He also revealed that his cherry red Tesla Roadster will serve as payload for the test ...

The February 2018 launch also shot SpaceX CEO Elon Musk's personal Tesla Roadster, along with a mannequin named Starman, into space and the cherry-red sports car is still out there in orbit ...

Hours later, with the help of professional and amateur astronomers, the MPC found out it wasn’t an asteroid after all, but the Tesla Roadster launched into space seven years ago. The car is ...

Starman, the passenger of the Tesla Roadster that SpaceX sent to outer space last year, has completed his first orbit around the sun. The people on Earth may be able to catch a glimpse of the ...

It’s been five years since Tesla and SpaceX (and Twitter, but who’s counting?) CEO Elon Musk launched his cherry red Tesla Roadster into space. The stunt was for SpaceX’s first test launch ...

What Happened: The Falcon Heavy launched for the first time on Feb. 6, 2018, carrying a dummy payload: Musk’s personal midnight cherry Tesla Roadster with a dummy astronaut in the driving seat ...