diff --git a/pkg/controller/render/render_controller.go b/pkg/controller/render/render_controller.go
index 6ae991072c..445cd786ee 100644
--- a/pkg/controller/render/render_controller.go
+++ b/pkg/controller/render/render_controller.go
@@ -495,6 +495,9 @@ func (ctrl *Controller) syncGeneratedMachineConfig(pool *mcfgv1.MachineConfigPoo
 	_, err = ctrl.mcLister.Get(generated.Name)
 	if apierrors.IsNotFound(err) {
 		_, err = ctrl.client.MachineconfigurationV1().MachineConfigs().Create(context.TODO(), generated, metav1.CreateOptions{})
+		if err != nil {
+			return err
+		}
 		glog.V(2).Infof("Generated machineconfig %s from %d configs: %s", generated.Name, len(source), source)
 		ctrl.eventRecorder.Eventf(pool, corev1.EventTypeNormal, "RenderedConfigGenerated", "%s successfully generated", generated.Name)
 	}