diff --git a/deploy.sh b/deploy.sh
index 21be2c2f0..b6a2c2317 100755
--- a/deploy.sh
+++ b/deploy.sh
@@ -33,4 +33,5 @@ else
     echo ""
     echo -e "${RED}Cannot deploy the controller."
     echo -e "${YELLOW}Please ensure kubectl can connect to a Kubernetes cluster.${NC}"
+    exit 3
 fi