diff --git a/cmd/minikube/cmd/config/enable.go b/cmd/minikube/cmd/config/enable.go
index a2426ca3fb26..0df2abb53410 100644
--- a/cmd/minikube/cmd/config/enable.go
+++ b/cmd/minikube/cmd/config/enable.go
@@ -42,7 +42,7 @@ var addonsEnableCmd = &cobra.Command{
 		addon := args[0]
 		// replace heapster as metrics-server because heapster is deprecated
 		if addon == "heapster" {
-			out.Styled(style.Waiting, "enable metrics-server addon instead of heapster addon because heapster is deprecated")
+			out.Styled(style.Waiting, "using metrics-server addon, heapster is deprecated")
 			addon = "metrics-server"
 		}
 		viper.Set(config.AddonImages, images)
@@ -76,5 +76,6 @@ var (
 func init() {
 	addonsEnableCmd.Flags().StringVar(&images, "images", "", "Images used by this addon. Separated by commas.")
 	addonsEnableCmd.Flags().StringVar(&registries, "registries", "", "Registries used by this addon. Separated by commas.")
+	addonsEnableCmd.Flags().BoolVar(&addons.Force, "force", false, "If true, will perform potentially dangerous operations. Use with discretion.")
 	AddonsCmd.AddCommand(addonsEnableCmd)
 }
diff --git a/cmd/minikube/cmd/root.go b/cmd/minikube/cmd/root.go
index 590e523d60ad..d57f6a0e3926 100644
--- a/cmd/minikube/cmd/root.go
+++ b/cmd/minikube/cmd/root.go
@@ -35,7 +35,7 @@ import (
 	"k8s.io/minikube/pkg/minikube/audit"
 	"k8s.io/minikube/pkg/minikube/config"
 	"k8s.io/minikube/pkg/minikube/constants"
-	"k8s.io/minikube/pkg/minikube/driver"
+	"k8s.io/minikube/pkg/minikube/detect"
 	"k8s.io/minikube/pkg/minikube/exit"
 	"k8s.io/minikube/pkg/minikube/localpath"
 	"k8s.io/minikube/pkg/minikube/out"
@@ -80,7 +80,7 @@ func Execute() {
 	defer audit.Log(time.Now())
 
 	// Check whether this is a windows binary (.exe) running inisde WSL.
-	if runtime.GOOS == "windows" && driver.IsMicrosoftWSL() {
+	if runtime.GOOS == "windows" && detect.IsMicrosoftWSL() {
 		var found = false
 		for _, a := range os.Args {
 			if a == "--force" {
diff --git a/pkg/addons/addons.go b/pkg/addons/addons.go
index 4c44831f22af..34ae91c0faa1 100644
--- a/pkg/addons/addons.go
+++ b/pkg/addons/addons.go
@@ -38,20 +38,17 @@ import (
 	"k8s.io/minikube/pkg/minikube/constants"
 	"k8s.io/minikube/pkg/minikube/driver"
 	"k8s.io/minikube/pkg/minikube/exit"
-	"k8s.io/minikube/pkg/minikube/kubeconfig"
 	"k8s.io/minikube/pkg/minikube/machine"
-	"k8s.io/minikube/pkg/minikube/mustload"
 	"k8s.io/minikube/pkg/minikube/out"
 	"k8s.io/minikube/pkg/minikube/out/register"
 	"k8s.io/minikube/pkg/minikube/reason"
-	"k8s.io/minikube/pkg/minikube/storageclass"
 	"k8s.io/minikube/pkg/minikube/style"
 	"k8s.io/minikube/pkg/minikube/sysinit"
 	"k8s.io/minikube/pkg/util/retry"
 )
 
-// defaultStorageClassProvisioner is the name of the default storage class provisioner
-const defaultStorageClassProvisioner = "standard"
+// Force is used to override checks for addons
+var Force bool = false
 
 // RunCallbacks runs all actions associated to an addon, but does not set it (thread-safe)
 func RunCallbacks(cc *config.ClusterConfig, name string, value string) error {
@@ -174,7 +171,6 @@ https://github.com/kubernetes/minikube/issues/7332`, out.V{"driver_name": cc.Dri
 		}
 	}
 
-	// TODO(r2d4): config package should not reference API, pull this out
 	api, err := machine.NewAPIClient()
 	if err != nil {
 		return errors.Wrap(err, "machine client")
@@ -279,75 +275,10 @@ func enableOrDisableAddonInternal(cc *config.ClusterConfig, addon *assets.Addon,
 	return retry.Expo(apply, 250*time.Millisecond, 2*time.Minute)
 }
 
-// enableOrDisableStorageClasses enables or disables storage classes
-func enableOrDisableStorageClasses(cc *config.ClusterConfig, name string, val string) error {
-	klog.Infof("enableOrDisableStorageClasses %s=%v on %q", name, val, cc.Name)
-	enable, err := strconv.ParseBool(val)
-	if err != nil {
-		return errors.Wrap(err, "Error parsing boolean")
-	}
-
-	class := defaultStorageClassProvisioner
-	if name == "storage-provisioner-gluster" {
-		class = "glusterfile"
-	}
-
-	api, err := machine.NewAPIClient()
-	if err != nil {
-		return errors.Wrap(err, "machine client")
-	}
-	defer api.Close()
-
-	cp, err := config.PrimaryControlPlane(cc)
-	if err != nil {
-		return errors.Wrap(err, "getting control plane")
-	}
-	if !machine.IsRunning(api, config.MachineName(*cc, cp)) {
-		klog.Warningf("%q is not running, writing %s=%v to disk and skipping enablement", config.MachineName(*cc, cp), name, val)
-		return EnableOrDisableAddon(cc, name, val)
-	}
-
-	storagev1, err := storageclass.GetStoragev1(cc.Name)
-	if err != nil {
-		return errors.Wrapf(err, "Error getting storagev1 interface %v ", err)
-	}
-
-	if enable {
-		// Only StorageClass for 'name' should be marked as default
-		err = storageclass.SetDefaultStorageClass(storagev1, class)
-		if err != nil {
-			return errors.Wrapf(err, "Error making %s the default storage class", class)
-		}
-	} else {
-		// Unset the StorageClass as default
-		err := storageclass.DisableDefaultStorageClass(storagev1, class)
-		if err != nil {
-			return errors.Wrapf(err, "Error disabling %s as the default storage class", class)
-		}
-	}
-
-	return EnableOrDisableAddon(cc, name, val)
-}
-
 func verifyAddonStatus(cc *config.ClusterConfig, name string, val string) error {
 	return verifyAddonStatusInternal(cc, name, val, "kube-system")
 }
 
-func verifyGCPAuthAddon(cc *config.ClusterConfig, name string, val string) error {
-	enable, err := strconv.ParseBool(val)
-	if err != nil {
-		return errors.Wrapf(err, "parsing bool: %s", name)
-	}
-	err = verifyAddonStatusInternal(cc, name, val, "gcp-auth")
-
-	if enable && err == nil {
-		out.Styled(style.Notice, "Your GCP credentials will now be mounted into every pod created in the {{.name}} cluster.", out.V{"name": cc.Name})
-		out.Styled(style.Notice, "If you don't want your credentials mounted into a specific pod, add a label with the `gcp-auth-skip-secret` key to your pod configuration.")
-	}
-
-	return err
-}
-
 func verifyAddonStatusInternal(cc *config.ClusterConfig, name string, val string, ns string) error {
 	klog.Infof("Verifying addon %s=%s in %q", name, val, cc.Name)
 	enable, err := strconv.ParseBool(val)
@@ -444,47 +375,3 @@ func Start(wg *sync.WaitGroup, cc *config.ClusterConfig, toEnable map[string]boo
 		}
 	}
 }
-
-// enableOrDisableAutoPause enables the service after the config was copied by generic enble
-func enableOrDisableAutoPause(cc *config.ClusterConfig, name string, val string) error {
-	enable, err := strconv.ParseBool(val)
-	if err != nil {
-		return errors.Wrapf(err, "parsing bool: %s", name)
-	}
-	out.Infof("auto-pause addon is an alpha feature and still in early development. Please file issues to help us make it better.")
-	out.Infof("https://github.com/kubernetes/minikube/labels/co%2Fauto-pause")
-
-	if !driver.IsKIC(cc.Driver) || runtime.GOARCH != "amd64" {
-		exit.Message(reason.Usage, `auto-pause currently is only supported on docker driver/docker runtime/amd64. Track progress of others here: https://github.com/kubernetes/minikube/issues/10601`)
-	}
-	co := mustload.Running(cc.Name)
-	if enable {
-		if err := sysinit.New(co.CP.Runner).EnableNow("auto-pause"); err != nil {
-			klog.ErrorS(err, "failed to enable", "service", "auto-pause")
-		}
-	}
-
-	port := co.CP.Port // api server port
-	if enable {        // if enable then need to calculate the forwarded port
-		port = constants.AutoPauseProxyPort
-		if driver.NeedsPortForward(cc.Driver) {
-			port, err = oci.ForwardedPort(cc.Driver, cc.Name, port)
-			if err != nil {
-				klog.ErrorS(err, "failed to get forwarded port for", "auto-pause port", port)
-			}
-		}
-	}
-
-	updated, err := kubeconfig.UpdateEndpoint(cc.Name, co.CP.Hostname, port, kubeconfig.PathFromEnv(), kubeconfig.NewExtension())
-	if err != nil {
-		klog.ErrorS(err, "failed to update kubeconfig", "auto-pause proxy endpoint")
-		return err
-	}
-	if updated {
-		klog.Infof("%s context has been updated to point to auto-pause proxy %s:%s", cc.Name, co.CP.Hostname, co.CP.Port)
-	} else {
-		klog.Info("no need to update kube-context for auto-pause proxy")
-	}
-
-	return nil
-}
diff --git a/pkg/addons/addons_autopause.go b/pkg/addons/addons_autopause.go
new file mode 100644
index 000000000000..936f51ff07e8
--- /dev/null
+++ b/pkg/addons/addons_autopause.go
@@ -0,0 +1,79 @@
+/*
+Copyright 2021 The Kubernetes Authors All rights reserved.
+
+Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
+you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+You may obtain a copy of the License at
+
+    http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+
+Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+limitations under the License.
+*/
+
+package addons
+
+import (
+	"runtime"
+	"strconv"
+
+	"github.com/pkg/errors"
+	"k8s.io/klog/v2"
+	"k8s.io/minikube/pkg/drivers/kic/oci"
+	"k8s.io/minikube/pkg/minikube/config"
+	"k8s.io/minikube/pkg/minikube/constants"
+	"k8s.io/minikube/pkg/minikube/driver"
+	"k8s.io/minikube/pkg/minikube/exit"
+	"k8s.io/minikube/pkg/minikube/kubeconfig"
+	"k8s.io/minikube/pkg/minikube/mustload"
+	"k8s.io/minikube/pkg/minikube/out"
+	"k8s.io/minikube/pkg/minikube/reason"
+	"k8s.io/minikube/pkg/minikube/sysinit"
+)
+
+// enableOrDisableAutoPause enables the service after the config was copied by generic enble
+func enableOrDisableAutoPause(cc *config.ClusterConfig, name string, val string) error {
+	enable, err := strconv.ParseBool(val)
+	if err != nil {
+		return errors.Wrapf(err, "parsing bool: %s", name)
+	}
+	out.Infof("auto-pause addon is an alpha feature and still in early development. Please file issues to help us make it better.")
+	out.Infof("https://github.com/kubernetes/minikube/labels/co%2Fauto-pause")
+
+	if !driver.IsKIC(cc.Driver) || runtime.GOARCH != "amd64" {
+		exit.Message(reason.Usage, `auto-pause currently is only supported on docker driver/docker runtime/amd64. Track progress of others here: https://github.com/kubernetes/minikube/issues/10601`)
+	}
+	co := mustload.Running(cc.Name)
+	if enable {
+		if err := sysinit.New(co.CP.Runner).EnableNow("auto-pause"); err != nil {
+			klog.ErrorS(err, "failed to enable", "service", "auto-pause")
+		}
+	}
+
+	port := co.CP.Port // api server port
+	if enable {        // if enable then need to calculate the forwarded port
+		port = constants.AutoPauseProxyPort
+		if driver.NeedsPortForward(cc.Driver) {
+			port, err = oci.ForwardedPort(cc.Driver, cc.Name, port)
+			if err != nil {
+				klog.ErrorS(err, "failed to get forwarded port for", "auto-pause port", port)
+			}
+		}
+	}
+
+	updated, err := kubeconfig.UpdateEndpoint(cc.Name, co.CP.Hostname, port, kubeconfig.PathFromEnv(), kubeconfig.NewExtension())
+	if err != nil {
+		klog.ErrorS(err, "failed to update kubeconfig", "auto-pause proxy endpoint")
+		return err
+	}
+	if updated {
+		klog.Infof("%s context has been updated to point to auto-pause proxy %s:%s", cc.Name, co.CP.Hostname, co.CP.Port)
+	} else {
+		klog.Info("no need to update kube-context for auto-pause proxy")
+	}
+
+	return nil
+}
diff --git a/pkg/addons/gcpauth/enable.go b/pkg/addons/addons_gcpauth.go
similarity index 65%
rename from pkg/addons/gcpauth/enable.go
rename to pkg/addons/addons_gcpauth.go
index 11eecca77383..b5d54cb55821 100644
--- a/pkg/addons/gcpauth/enable.go
+++ b/pkg/addons/addons_gcpauth.go
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 /*
-Copyright 2020 The Kubernetes Authors All rights reserved.
+Copyright 2021 The Kubernetes Authors All rights reserved.
 
 Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
 you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
@@ -14,21 +14,20 @@ See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
 limitations under the License.
 */
 
-package gcpauth
+package addons
 
 import (
 	"bytes"
 	"context"
-	"io/ioutil"
 	"os"
 	"os/exec"
-	"path"
 	"strconv"
 
 	"github.com/pkg/errors"
 	"golang.org/x/oauth2/google"
 	"k8s.io/minikube/pkg/minikube/assets"
 	"k8s.io/minikube/pkg/minikube/config"
+	"k8s.io/minikube/pkg/minikube/detect"
 	"k8s.io/minikube/pkg/minikube/exit"
 	"k8s.io/minikube/pkg/minikube/mustload"
 	"k8s.io/minikube/pkg/minikube/out"
@@ -41,19 +40,23 @@ const (
 	projectPath     = "/var/lib/minikube/google_cloud_project"
 )
 
-// EnableOrDisable enables or disables the metadata addon depending on the val parameter
-func EnableOrDisable(cfg *config.ClusterConfig, name string, val string) error {
+// enableOrDisableGCPAuth enables or disables the gcp-auth addon depending on the val parameter
+func enableOrDisableGCPAuth(cfg *config.ClusterConfig, name string, val string) error {
 	enable, err := strconv.ParseBool(val)
 	if err != nil {
 		return errors.Wrapf(err, "parsing bool: %s", name)
 	}
 	if enable {
-		return enableAddon(cfg)
+		return enableAddonGCPAuth(cfg)
 	}
-	return disableAddon(cfg)
+	return disableAddonGCPAuth(cfg)
 }
 
-func enableAddon(cfg *config.ClusterConfig) error {
+func enableAddonGCPAuth(cfg *config.ClusterConfig) error {
+	if !Force && detect.IsOnGCE() {
+		exit.Message(reason.InternalCredsNotFound, "It seems that you are running in GCE, which means authentication should work without the GCP Auth addon. If you would still like to authenticate using a credentials file, use the --force flag.")
+	}
+
 	// Grab command runner from running cluster
 	cc := mustload.Running(cfg.Name)
 	r := cc.CP.Runner
@@ -65,20 +68,9 @@ func enableAddon(cfg *config.ClusterConfig) error {
 		exit.Message(reason.InternalCredsNotFound, "Could not find any GCP credentials. Either run `gcloud auth application-default login` or set the GOOGLE_APPLICATION_CREDENTIALS environment variable to the path of your credentials file.")
 	}
 
+	// Don't mount in empty credentials file
 	if creds.JSON == nil {
-		// Cloud Shell sends credential files to an unusual location, let's check that location
-		// For example, CLOUDSDK_CONFIG=/tmp/tmp.cflmvysoQE
-		if e := os.Getenv("CLOUDSDK_CONFIG"); e != "" {
-			credFile := path.Join(e, "application_default_credentials.json")
-			b, err := ioutil.ReadFile(credFile)
-			if err != nil {
-				exit.Message(reason.InternalCredsNotFound, "Could not find any GCP credentials. Either run `gcloud auth application-default login` or set the GOOGLE_APPLICATION_CREDENTIALS environment variable to the path of your credentials file.")
-			}
-			creds.JSON = b
-		} else {
-			// We don't currently support authentication through the metadata server
-			exit.Message(reason.InternalCredsNotFound, "Could not find any GCP credentials. Either run `gcloud auth application-default login` or set the GOOGLE_APPLICATION_CREDENTIALS environment variable to the path of your credentials file.")
-		}
+		exit.Message(reason.InternalCredsNotFound, "Could not find any GCP credentials. Either run `gcloud auth application-default login` or set the GOOGLE_APPLICATION_CREDENTIALS environment variable to the path of your credentials file.")
 	}
 
 	f := assets.NewMemoryAssetTarget(creds.JSON, credentialsPath, "0444")
@@ -114,7 +106,7 @@ or set the GOOGLE_CLOUD_PROJECT environment variable.`)
 	return r.Copy(emptyFile)
 }
 
-func disableAddon(cfg *config.ClusterConfig) error {
+func disableAddonGCPAuth(cfg *config.ClusterConfig) error {
 	// Grab command runner from running cluster
 	cc := mustload.Running(cfg.Name)
 	r := cc.CP.Runner
@@ -134,3 +126,18 @@ func disableAddon(cfg *config.ClusterConfig) error {
 
 	return nil
 }
+
+func verifyGCPAuthAddon(cc *config.ClusterConfig, name string, val string) error {
+	enable, err := strconv.ParseBool(val)
+	if err != nil {
+		return errors.Wrapf(err, "parsing bool: %s", name)
+	}
+	err = verifyAddonStatusInternal(cc, name, val, "gcp-auth")
+
+	if enable && err == nil {
+		out.Styled(style.Notice, "Your GCP credentials will now be mounted into every pod created in the {{.name}} cluster.", out.V{"name": cc.Name})
+		out.Styled(style.Notice, "If you don't want your credentials mounted into a specific pod, add a label with the `gcp-auth-skip-secret` key to your pod configuration.")
+	}
+
+	return err
+}
diff --git a/pkg/addons/addons_storage_classes.go b/pkg/addons/addons_storage_classes.go
new file mode 100644
index 000000000000..cd8b67272900
--- /dev/null
+++ b/pkg/addons/addons_storage_classes.go
@@ -0,0 +1,79 @@
+/*
+Copyright 2021 The Kubernetes Authors All rights reserved.
+
+Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
+you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+You may obtain a copy of the License at
+
+    http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+
+Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+limitations under the License.
+*/
+
+package addons
+
+import (
+	"strconv"
+
+	"github.com/pkg/errors"
+	"k8s.io/klog/v2"
+	"k8s.io/minikube/pkg/minikube/config"
+	"k8s.io/minikube/pkg/minikube/machine"
+	"k8s.io/minikube/pkg/minikube/storageclass"
+)
+
+const defaultStorageClassProvisioner = "standard"
+
+// enableOrDisableStorageClasses enables or disables storage classes
+func enableOrDisableStorageClasses(cc *config.ClusterConfig, name string, val string) error {
+	klog.Infof("enableOrDisableStorageClasses %s=%v on %q", name, val, cc.Name)
+	enable, err := strconv.ParseBool(val)
+	if err != nil {
+		return errors.Wrap(err, "Error parsing boolean")
+	}
+
+	class := defaultStorageClassProvisioner
+	if name == "storage-provisioner-gluster" {
+		class = "glusterfile"
+	}
+
+	api, err := machine.NewAPIClient()
+	if err != nil {
+		return errors.Wrap(err, "machine client")
+	}
+	defer api.Close()
+
+	cp, err := config.PrimaryControlPlane(cc)
+	if err != nil {
+		return errors.Wrap(err, "getting control plane")
+	}
+	if !machine.IsRunning(api, config.MachineName(*cc, cp)) {
+		klog.Warningf("%q is not running, writing %s=%v to disk and skipping enablement", config.MachineName(*cc, cp), name, val)
+		return EnableOrDisableAddon(cc, name, val)
+	}
+
+	storagev1, err := storageclass.GetStoragev1(cc.Name)
+	if err != nil {
+		return errors.Wrapf(err, "Error getting storagev1 interface %v ", err)
+	}
+
+	if enable {
+		// Only StorageClass for 'name' should be marked as default
+		err = storageclass.SetDefaultStorageClass(storagev1, class)
+		if err != nil {
+			return errors.Wrapf(err, "Error making %s the default storage class", class)
+		}
+	} else {
+		// Unset the StorageClass as default
+		err := storageclass.DisableDefaultStorageClass(storagev1, class)
+		if err != nil {
+			return errors.Wrapf(err, "Error disabling %s as the default storage class", class)
+		}
+	}
+
+	return EnableOrDisableAddon(cc, name, val)
+}
diff --git a/pkg/addons/config.go b/pkg/addons/config.go
index f33a01f28363..22c242a7a533 100644
--- a/pkg/addons/config.go
+++ b/pkg/addons/config.go
@@ -17,7 +17,6 @@ limitations under the License.
 package addons
 
 import (
-	"k8s.io/minikube/pkg/addons/gcpauth"
 	"k8s.io/minikube/pkg/minikube/config"
 )
 
@@ -175,7 +174,7 @@ var Addons = []*Addon{
 	{
 		name:      "gcp-auth",
 		set:       SetBool,
-		callbacks: []setFn{gcpauth.EnableOrDisable, EnableOrDisableAddon, verifyGCPAuthAddon},
+		callbacks: []setFn{enableOrDisableGCPAuth, EnableOrDisableAddon, verifyGCPAuthAddon},
 	},
 	{
 		name:      "volumesnapshots",
diff --git a/pkg/minikube/detect/detect.go b/pkg/minikube/detect/detect.go
new file mode 100644
index 000000000000..b3af332d4fe3
--- /dev/null
+++ b/pkg/minikube/detect/detect.go
@@ -0,0 +1,43 @@
+/*
+Copyright 2021 The Kubernetes Authors All rights reserved.
+
+Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
+you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+You may obtain a copy of the License at
+
+    http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+
+Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+limitations under the License.
+*/
+
+package detect
+
+import (
+	"net/http"
+	"os"
+)
+
+// IsMicrosoftWSL will return true if process is running in WSL in windows
+// checking for WSL env var based on this https://github.com/microsoft/WSL/issues/423#issuecomment-608237689
+// also based on https://github.com/microsoft/vscode/blob/90a39ba0d49d75e9a4d7e62a6121ad946ecebc58/resources/win32/bin/code.sh#L24
+func IsMicrosoftWSL() bool {
+	return os.Getenv("WSL_DISTRO_NAME") != "" || os.Getenv("WSLPATH") != ""
+}
+
+// IsOnGCE determines whether minikube is currently running on GCE.
+func IsOnGCE() bool {
+	resp, err := http.Get("http://metadata.google.internal")
+	if err != nil {
+		return false
+	}
+
+	if resp.Header.Get("Metadata-Flavor") == "Google" {
+		return true
+	}
+
+	return false
+}
diff --git a/pkg/minikube/driver/driver.go b/pkg/minikube/driver/driver.go
index 2edc1ef742d4..e574493c9c2e 100644
--- a/pkg/minikube/driver/driver.go
+++ b/pkg/minikube/driver/driver.go
@@ -26,6 +26,7 @@ import (
 
 	"k8s.io/klog/v2"
 	"k8s.io/minikube/pkg/drivers/kic/oci"
+	"k8s.io/minikube/pkg/minikube/detect"
 	"k8s.io/minikube/pkg/minikube/registry"
 )
 
@@ -167,14 +168,7 @@ func NeedsPortForward(name string) bool {
 		return true
 	}
 	// Docker for Desktop
-	return runtime.GOOS == "darwin" || runtime.GOOS == "windows" || IsMicrosoftWSL()
-}
-
-// IsMicrosoftWSL will return true if process is running in WSL in windows
-// checking for WSL env var based on this https://github.com/microsoft/WSL/issues/423#issuecomment-608237689
-// also based on https://github.com/microsoft/vscode/blob/90a39ba0d49d75e9a4d7e62a6121ad946ecebc58/resources/win32/bin/code.sh#L24
-func IsMicrosoftWSL() bool {
-	return os.Getenv("WSL_DISTRO_NAME") != "" || os.Getenv("WSLPATH") != ""
+	return runtime.GOOS == "darwin" || runtime.GOOS == "windows" || detect.IsMicrosoftWSL()
 }
 
 // HasResourceLimits returns true if driver can set resource limits such as memory size or CPU count.
diff --git a/pkg/minikube/node/start.go b/pkg/minikube/node/start.go
index 017b99540840..87997f4b6b24 100644
--- a/pkg/minikube/node/start.go
+++ b/pkg/minikube/node/start.go
@@ -164,6 +164,9 @@ func Start(starter Starter, apiServer bool) (*kubeconfig.Settings, error) {
 
 	// enable addons, both old and new!
 	if starter.ExistingAddons != nil {
+		if viper.GetBool("force") {
+			addons.Force = true
+		}
 		wg.Add(1)
 		go addons.Start(&wg, starter.Cfg, starter.ExistingAddons, config.AddonList)
 	}
diff --git a/site/content/en/docs/commands/addons.md b/site/content/en/docs/commands/addons.md
index 51023fa24dd9..7a783632a9b9 100644
--- a/site/content/en/docs/commands/addons.md
+++ b/site/content/en/docs/commands/addons.md
@@ -128,6 +128,7 @@ minikube addons enable dashboard
 ### Options
 
 ```
+      --force               If true, will perform potentially dangerous operations. Use with discretion.
       --images string       Images used by this addon. Separated by commas.
       --registries string   Registries used by this addon. Separated by commas.
 ```
diff --git a/test/integration/addons_test.go b/test/integration/addons_test.go
index 7a875a218a76..7f9428e09eea 100644
--- a/test/integration/addons_test.go
+++ b/test/integration/addons_test.go
@@ -36,6 +36,7 @@ import (
 
 	"github.com/hashicorp/go-retryablehttp"
 	"k8s.io/minikube/pkg/kapi"
+	"k8s.io/minikube/pkg/minikube/detect"
 	"k8s.io/minikube/pkg/util/retry"
 )
 
@@ -58,18 +59,43 @@ func TestAddons(t *testing.T) {
 		t.Fatalf("Failed setting GOOGLE_CLOUD_PROJECT env var: %v", err)
 	}
 
-	args := append([]string{"start", "-p", profile, "--wait=true", "--memory=4000", "--alsologtostderr", "--addons=registry", "--addons=metrics-server", "--addons=olm", "--addons=volumesnapshots", "--addons=csi-hostpath-driver", "--addons=gcp-auth"}, StartArgs()...)
+	args := append([]string{"start", "-p", profile, "--wait=true", "--memory=4000", "--alsologtostderr", "--addons=registry", "--addons=metrics-server", "--addons=olm", "--addons=volumesnapshots", "--addons=csi-hostpath-driver"}, StartArgs()...)
 	if !(runtime.GOOS == "darwin" && KicDriver()) { // macos docker driver does not support ingress
 		args = append(args, "--addons=ingress")
 	}
 	if !arm64Platform() {
 		args = append(args, "--addons=helm-tiller")
 	}
+	if !detect.IsOnGCE() {
+		args = append(args, "--addons=gcp-auth")
+	}
 	rr, err := Run(t, exec.CommandContext(ctx, Target(), args...))
 	if err != nil {
 		t.Fatalf("%s failed: %v", rr.Command(), err)
 	}
 
+	// If we're running the integration tests on GCE, which is frequently the case, first check to make sure we exit out properly,
+	// then use force to actually test using creds.
+	if detect.IsOnGCE() {
+		args = []string{"-p", profile, "addons", "enable", "gcp-auth"}
+		rr, err := Run(t, exec.CommandContext(ctx, Target(), args...))
+		if err == nil {
+			t.Errorf("Expected error but didn't get one. command %v, output %v", rr.Command(), rr.Output())
+		} else {
+			if !strings.Contains(rr.Output(), "It seems that you are running in GCE") {
+				t.Errorf("Unexpected error message: %v", rr.Output())
+			} else {
+				// ok, use force here since we are in GCE
+				// do not use --force unless absolutely necessary
+				args = append(args, "--force")
+				rr, err := Run(t, exec.CommandContext(ctx, Target(), args...))
+				if err != nil {
+					t.Errorf("%s failed: %v", rr.Command(), err)
+				}
+			}
+		}
+	}
+
 	// Parallelized tests
 	t.Run("parallel", func(t *testing.T) {
 		tests := []struct {
diff --git a/test/integration/helpers_test.go b/test/integration/helpers_test.go
index c41a20a20985..3e90b282bb73 100644
--- a/test/integration/helpers_test.go
+++ b/test/integration/helpers_test.go
@@ -86,7 +86,7 @@ func (rr RunResult) Output() string {
 	return sb.String()
 }
 
-// Run is a test helper to log a command being executed \_(ツ)_/¯
+// Run is a test helper to log a command being executed ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
 func Run(t *testing.T, cmd *exec.Cmd) (*RunResult, error) {
 	t.Helper()
 	rr := &RunResult{Args: cmd.Args}
diff --git a/test/integration/main_test.go b/test/integration/main_test.go
index 1a72688bb748..3e1003df0b08 100644
--- a/test/integration/main_test.go
+++ b/test/integration/main_test.go
@@ -30,7 +30,7 @@ import (
 	"time"
 
 	"k8s.io/minikube/pkg/minikube/constants"
-	"k8s.io/minikube/pkg/minikube/driver"
+	"k8s.io/minikube/pkg/minikube/detect"
 )
 
 // General configuration: used to set the VM Driver
@@ -169,7 +169,7 @@ func arm64Platform() bool {
 // NeedsPortForward returns access to endpoints with this driver needs port forwarding
 // (Docker on non-Linux platforms requires ports to be forwarded to 127.0.0.1)
 func NeedsPortForward() bool {
-	return KicDriver() && (runtime.GOOS == "windows" || runtime.GOOS == "darwin") || driver.IsMicrosoftWSL()
+	return KicDriver() && (runtime.GOOS == "windows" || runtime.GOOS == "darwin") || detect.IsMicrosoftWSL()
 }
 
 // CanCleanup returns if cleanup is allowed