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The German transport minister has asked Tesla to stop using the word Autopilot in the advertising for its cars, according to Reuters. 

A spokeswoman from Alexander Dobrindt's ministry, the Federal Motor Transport Authority (KBA) confirmed that they had written to Tesla to make this request, following a report in the German Bild am Sonntag newspaper.

The idea behind asking Tesla to stop using the word Autopilot was reportedly as it may be misleading and suggest a driver's attention isn't needed on the road.

However, Reuters reached out to a Tesla spokesperson, who said the term Autopilot, the term describing a system working alongside a human driver, had been used in aerospace for decades. 

According to the report, she added that the company had always made it clear to customers that assistance systems required drivers to pay attention at all times 

Last week, the KBA wrote to Tesla car owners to warn them their cars couldn't be operated "without their constant attention and under traffic regulations they must remain alert".

According to Tesla's Model S Software Version 7.0 explainer, the car is "designed to keep getting better over time" and supported with regular software updates.

The system has received some criticism by the media this year, following a fatal crash in which a Tesla Model S using Autopilot was involved.