diff --git a/pkg/providers/tf/upgrade.go b/pkg/providers/tf/upgrade.go
index 5c66947d6..c763185f2 100644
--- a/pkg/providers/tf/upgrade.go
+++ b/pkg/providers/tf/upgrade.go
@@ -107,7 +107,7 @@ func (provider *TerraformProvider) performTerraformUpgrade(ctx context.Context,
 	if currentTfVersion.LessThan(version.Must(version.NewVersion("1.5.0"))) {
 		return errors.New("upgrade only supported for Terraform versions >= 1.5.0")
 	} else if currentTfVersion.LessThan(provider.tfBinContext.DefaultTfVersion) {
-		if provider.tfBinContext.TfUpgradePath == nil || len(provider.tfBinContext.TfUpgradePath) == 0 {
+		if len(provider.tfBinContext.TfUpgradePath) == 0 {
 			return errors.New("tofu version mismatch and no upgrade path specified")
 		}
 		for _, targetTfVersion := range provider.tfBinContext.TfUpgradePath {