diff --git a/cluster/gce/configure-vm.sh b/cluster/gce/configure-vm.sh
index f25c7584da5..bed95293195 100755
--- a/cluster/gce/configure-vm.sh
+++ b/cluster/gce/configure-vm.sh
@@ -778,7 +778,7 @@ EOF
 
   if [[ -n "${NODE_INSTANCE_PREFIX:-}" ]]; then
     cat <<EOF >>/etc/gce.conf
-node-tags = [${NODE_INSTANCE_PREFIX}]
+node-tags = ${NODE_INSTANCE_PREFIX}
 EOF
     CLOUD_CONFIG=/etc/gce.conf
   fi