diff --git a/pkg/kubelet/kubelet.go b/pkg/kubelet/kubelet.go
index b8b7cfd84e9..9ba453897de 100644
--- a/pkg/kubelet/kubelet.go
+++ b/pkg/kubelet/kubelet.go
@@ -920,6 +920,13 @@ func NewMainKubelet(ctx context.Context,
 				}
 				return cert, nil
 			}
+
+			// GetCertificate is only preferred over the certificate files by
+			// Golang TLS if the ClientHelloInfo.ServerName is set, which it is
+			// not when connecting to a host by IP address. Clear the files to
+			// force the use of GetCertificate.
+			kubeDeps.TLSOptions.CertFile = ""
+			kubeDeps.TLSOptions.KeyFile = ""
 		}
 	}
 
diff --git a/pkg/kubelet/server/server.go b/pkg/kubelet/server/server.go
index 31ecfe65672..191482784c6 100644
--- a/pkg/kubelet/server/server.go
+++ b/pkg/kubelet/server/server.go
@@ -194,9 +194,6 @@ func ListenAndServeKubeletServer(
 
 	if tlsOptions != nil {
 		s.TLSConfig = tlsOptions.Config
-		// Passing empty strings as the cert and key files means no
-		// cert/keys are specified and GetCertificate in the TLSConfig
-		// should be called instead.
 		if err := s.ListenAndServeTLS(tlsOptions.CertFile, tlsOptions.KeyFile); err != nil {
 			logger.Error(err, "Failed to listen and serve")
 			os.Exit(1)
diff --git a/test/e2e_node/kubelet_tls_test.go b/test/e2e_node/kubelet_tls_test.go
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..f2f3b52e4ac
--- /dev/null
+++ b/test/e2e_node/kubelet_tls_test.go
@@ -0,0 +1,110 @@
+/*
+Copyright 2025 The Kubernetes Authors.
+
+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 e2enode
+
+import (
+	"context"
+	"crypto/tls"
+	"crypto/x509"
+	"fmt"
+	"net"
+	"os"
+	"path/filepath"
+
+	"github.com/onsi/ginkgo/v2"
+	"github.com/onsi/gomega"
+	"k8s.io/client-go/util/cert"
+	"k8s.io/kubernetes/pkg/cluster/ports"
+	kubeletconfig "k8s.io/kubernetes/pkg/kubelet/apis/config"
+	"k8s.io/kubernetes/test/e2e/framework"
+)
+
+func createCertAndKeyFiles(certDir string) (string, string, error) {
+	cert, key, err := cert.GenerateSelfSignedCertKey(
+		"localhost",
+		[]net.IP{{127, 0, 0, 1}},
+		[]string{"localhost"},
+	)
+	if err != nil {
+		return "", "", nil
+	}
+
+	certPath := filepath.Join(certDir, "kubelet.cert")
+	keyPath := filepath.Join(certDir, "kubelet.key")
+	if err = os.WriteFile(certPath, cert, os.FileMode(0644)); err != nil {
+		return "", "", err
+	}
+
+	if err = os.WriteFile(keyPath, key, os.FileMode(0600)); err != nil {
+		return "", "", err
+	}
+
+	return certPath, keyPath, nil
+}
+
+func getCert(addr string) (*x509.Certificate, error) {
+	conn, err := tls.Dial("tcp", addr, &tls.Config{InsecureSkipVerify: true})
+	if err != nil {
+		return nil, err
+	}
+	defer func() { _ = conn.Close() }()
+
+	return conn.ConnectionState().PeerCertificates[0], nil
+}
+
+var _ = SIGDescribe("KubletTLS", framework.WithSerial(), framework.WithNodeConformance(), func() {
+	f := framework.NewDefaultFramework("kubelet-tls-test")
+
+	ginkgo.Context("certificate reload", func() {
+		var tempDir string
+
+		t := ginkgo.GinkgoT()
+		ginkgo.BeforeEach(func(ctx context.Context) {
+			tempDir = t.TempDir()
+			cfg, err := getCurrentKubeletConfig(ctx)
+			framework.ExpectNoError(err)
+			ginkgo.DeferCleanup(func(ctx context.Context, cfg *kubeletconfig.KubeletConfiguration) {
+				updateKubeletConfig(ctx, f, cfg, true)
+			}, cfg.DeepCopy())
+
+			certPath, keyPath, err := createCertAndKeyFiles(tempDir)
+			framework.ExpectNoError(err)
+
+			cfg.TLSCertFile = certPath
+			cfg.TLSPrivateKeyFile = keyPath
+			updateKubeletConfig(ctx, f, cfg, true)
+		})
+
+		ginkgo.It("should reload certificates from disk", func(ctx context.Context) {
+			addr := fmt.Sprintf("127.0.0.1:%d", ports.KubeletPort)
+			oldCert, err := getCert(addr)
+			framework.ExpectNoError(err)
+
+			_, _, err = createCertAndKeyFiles(tempDir)
+			framework.ExpectNoError(err)
+
+			gomega.Eventually(ctx, func(ctx context.Context) (bool, error) {
+				newCert, err := getCert(addr)
+				if err != nil {
+					return true, err
+				}
+
+				return newCert.Equal(oldCert), nil
+			}).Should(gomega.BeFalseBecause("new certificate should be loaded"))
+		})
+	})
+})