The Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics has announced the discovery of asteroid 2018 CN41, which later turned out to be a Tesla Roadster.

Shortly after the announcement of the discovery of asteroid 2018 CN41, the MPC realized that the object was actually a Tesla Roadster, launched into space in 2018. This episode underscores the difficulties astronomers face in tracking space objects amid the lack of regulations for objects outside Earth orbit.