What’s the difference between a tail number and a Manufacturer's Serial Number?

Question

What’s the difference between a tail number and a Manufacturer's Serial Number (MSN)? How and when are they generated?

Answer 1

The tail number is the civil registration, and the manufacturer serial number (MSN) is a build number used by the manufacturer.

It is similar to the licence plate on your car, and the vehicle identification number applied by the builder of the car.