diff --git a/sqlite_utils/cli.py b/sqlite_utils/cli.py
index 9b9ee20e..7e6af6ca 100644
--- a/sqlite_utils/cli.py
+++ b/sqlite_utils/cli.py
@@ -1176,7 +1176,7 @@ def insert_upsert_implementation(
                 )
             else:
                 raise
-        if tracker is not None:
+        if tracker is not None and db[table].exists():
             db.table(table).transform(types=tracker.types)
 
         # Clean up open file-like objects