diff --git a/cmd/minikube/cmd/start.go b/cmd/minikube/cmd/start.go
index 6ed188f86523..94dd9ba97924 100644
--- a/cmd/minikube/cmd/start.go
+++ b/cmd/minikube/cmd/start.go
@@ -33,6 +33,7 @@ import (
 	"github.com/golang/glog"
 	"github.com/spf13/cobra"
 	"github.com/spf13/viper"
+	"golang.org/x/sync/errgroup"
 	cmdcfg "k8s.io/minikube/cmd/minikube/cmd/config"
 	cmdutil "k8s.io/minikube/cmd/util"
 	"k8s.io/minikube/pkg/minikube/bootstrapper"
@@ -100,9 +101,13 @@ func runStart(cmd *cobra.Command, args []string) {
 	k8sVersion := viper.GetString(kubernetesVersion)
 	clusterBootstrapper := viper.GetString(cmdcfg.Bootstrapper)
 
+	var groupCacheImages errgroup.Group
 	if shouldCacheImages {
-		go machine.CacheImagesForBootstrapper(k8sVersion, clusterBootstrapper)
+		groupCacheImages.Go(func() error {
+			return machine.CacheImagesForBootstrapper(k8sVersion, clusterBootstrapper)
+		})
 	}
+
 	api, err := machine.NewAPIClient()
 	if err != nil {
 		fmt.Fprintf(os.Stderr, "Error getting client: %s\n", err)
@@ -229,7 +234,15 @@ func runStart(cmd *cobra.Command, args []string) {
 		glog.Errorln("Error saving profile cluster configuration: ", err)
 	}
 
+	if shouldCacheImages {
+		fmt.Println("Waiting for image caching to complete...")
+		if err := groupCacheImages.Wait(); err != nil {
+			glog.Errorln("Error caching images: ", err)
+		}
+	}
+
 	fmt.Println("Moving files into cluster...")
+
 	if err := k8sBootstrapper.UpdateCluster(kubernetesConfig); err != nil {
 		glog.Errorln("Error updating cluster: ", err)
 		cmdutil.MaybeReportErrorAndExit(err)
@@ -332,10 +345,10 @@ You will need to move the files to the appropriate location and then set the cor
 	sudo mv /root/.kube $HOME/.kube # this will write over any previous configuration
 	sudo chown -R $USER $HOME/.kube
 	sudo chgrp -R $USER $HOME/.kube
-	
+
 	sudo mv /root/.minikube $HOME/.minikube # this will write over any previous configuration
 	sudo chown -R $USER $HOME/.minikube
-	sudo chgrp -R $USER $HOME/.minikube 
+	sudo chgrp -R $USER $HOME/.minikube
 
 This can also be done automatically by setting the env var CHANGE_MINIKUBE_NONE_USER=true`)
 		}
@@ -394,7 +407,7 @@ func init() {
 	startCmd.Flags().String(containerRuntime, "", "The container runtime to be used")
 	startCmd.Flags().String(networkPlugin, "", "The name of the network plugin")
 	startCmd.Flags().String(featureGates, "", "A set of key=value pairs that describe feature gates for alpha/experimental features.")
-	startCmd.Flags().Bool(cacheImages, true, "If true, cache docker images for the current bootstrapper and load them into the machine.")
+	startCmd.Flags().Bool(cacheImages, false, "If true, cache docker images for the current bootstrapper and load them into the machine.")
 	startCmd.Flags().Var(&extraOptions, "extra-config",
 		`A set of key=value pairs that describe configuration that may be passed to different components.
 		The key should be '.' separated, and the first part before the dot is the component to apply the configuration to.
diff --git a/pkg/minikube/bootstrapper/kubeadm/kubeadm.go b/pkg/minikube/bootstrapper/kubeadm/kubeadm.go
index e23c75dfa9fe..55e996aefbde 100644
--- a/pkg/minikube/bootstrapper/kubeadm/kubeadm.go
+++ b/pkg/minikube/bootstrapper/kubeadm/kubeadm.go
@@ -259,9 +259,12 @@ func NewKubeletConfig(k8s config.KubernetesConfig) (string, error) {
 
 func (k *KubeadmBootstrapper) UpdateCluster(cfg config.KubernetesConfig) error {
 	if cfg.ShouldLoadCachedImages {
-		// Make best effort to load any cached images
-		go machine.LoadImages(k.c, constants.GetKubeadmCachedImages(cfg.KubernetesVersion), constants.ImageCacheDir)
+		err := machine.LoadImages(k.c, constants.GetKubeadmCachedImages(cfg.KubernetesVersion), constants.ImageCacheDir)
+		if err != nil {
+			return errors.Wrap(err, "loading cached images")
+		}
 	}
+
 	kubeadmCfg, err := generateConfig(cfg)
 	if err != nil {
 		return errors.Wrap(err, "generating kubeadm cfg")