diff --git a/cluster-autoscaler/cloudprovider/gce/gce_cloud_provider.go b/cluster-autoscaler/cloudprovider/gce/gce_cloud_provider.go
index 6b299b0b27cb..e4e959411a21 100644
--- a/cluster-autoscaler/cloudprovider/gce/gce_cloud_provider.go
+++ b/cluster-autoscaler/cloudprovider/gce/gce_cloud_provider.go
@@ -122,25 +122,7 @@ func (gce *GceCloudProvider) NodeGroupForNode(node *apiv1.Node) (cloudprovider.N
 
 // HasInstance returns whether a given node has a corresponding instance in this cloud provider
 func (gce *GceCloudProvider) HasInstance(node *apiv1.Node) (bool, error) {
-	ref, err := GceRefFromProviderId(node.Spec.ProviderID)
-	if err != nil {
-		return false, err
-	}
-
-	mig, err := gce.gceManager.GetMigForInstance(ref)
-	if err != nil {
-		return false, err
-	}
-
-	// Not managed by any registered MIG; there's not enough information to confidently say if this instance exists,
-	// so err on the side of safety and return an error. ErrNotImplemented is returned (vs. a generic error) to
-	// avoid repeated warning logging in clusterstate.
-	if mig == nil {
-		return true, cloudprovider.ErrNotImplemented
-	}
-
-	// Instance belongs to a managed MIG, so it's known to be backed by a live instance.
-	return true, nil
+	return true, cloudprovider.ErrNotImplemented
 }
 
 // Pricing returns pricing model for this cloud provider or error if not available.
diff --git a/cluster-autoscaler/cloudprovider/gce/gce_cloud_provider_test.go b/cluster-autoscaler/cloudprovider/gce/gce_cloud_provider_test.go
index 3917d260539c..3729cadfacab 100644
--- a/cluster-autoscaler/cloudprovider/gce/gce_cloud_provider_test.go
+++ b/cluster-autoscaler/cloudprovider/gce/gce_cloud_provider_test.go
@@ -60,11 +60,7 @@ func (m *gceManagerMock) DeleteInstances(instances []GceRef) error {
 
 func (m *gceManagerMock) GetMigForInstance(instance GceRef) (Mig, error) {
 	args := m.Called(instance)
-	v := args.Get(0)
-	if v == nil {
-		return nil, args.Error(1)
-	}
-	return v.(*gceMig), args.Error(1)
+	return args.Get(0).(*gceMig), args.Error(1)
 }
 
 func (m *gceManagerMock) GetMigNodes(mig Mig) ([]GceInstance, error) {
@@ -469,86 +465,6 @@ func TestGceRefFromProviderId(t *testing.T) {
 	assert.Equal(t, GceRef{"project1", "us-central1-b", "name1"}, ref)
 }
 
-func TestHasInstance(t *testing.T) {
-	migRef := GceRef{Project: "project1", Zone: "us-central1-b", Name: "mig-0"}
-	mig := &gceMig{gceRef: migRef}
-
-	nodeRef := GceRef{Project: "project1", Zone: "us-central1-b", Name: "mig-0-0001"}
-	nodeProviderID := "gce://project1/us-central1-b/mig-0-0001"
-
-	for _, tc := range []struct {
-		name         string
-		node         func() *apiv1.Node
-		setupMocks   func(*gceManagerMock)
-		expectExists bool
-		expectErr    bool
-	}{
-		{
-			name: "invalid provider ID returns error",
-			node: func() *apiv1.Node {
-				n := BuildTestNode("node1", 1000, 1000)
-				n.Spec.ProviderID = "not-a-valid-gce-provider-id"
-				return n
-			},
-			setupMocks: func(m *gceManagerMock) {},
-			expectErr:  true,
-		},
-		{
-			name: "failure to get mig for instance returns error",
-			node: func() *apiv1.Node {
-				n := BuildTestNode("mig-0-0001", 1000, 1000)
-				n.Spec.ProviderID = nodeProviderID
-				return n
-			},
-			setupMocks: func(m *gceManagerMock) {
-				m.On("GetMigForInstance", nodeRef).Return(nil, fmt.Errorf("lookup error")).Once()
-			},
-			expectErr: true,
-		},
-		{
-			// Instance belongs to either an unregistered MIG, or one that is not in scope of the provider
-			// (e.g., a node from a non-auto-discovered MIG).
-			name: "instance in unregistered MIG returns error",
-			node: func() *apiv1.Node {
-				n := BuildTestNode("mig-x-0001", 1000, 1000)
-				n.Spec.ProviderID = nodeProviderID
-				return n
-			},
-			setupMocks: func(m *gceManagerMock) {
-				m.On("GetMigForInstance", nodeRef).Return(nil, nil).Once()
-			},
-			expectErr: true,
-		},
-		{
-			name: "instance in registered MIG returns true",
-			node: func() *apiv1.Node {
-				n := BuildTestNode("mig-0-0001", 1000, 1000)
-				n.Spec.ProviderID = nodeProviderID
-				return n
-			},
-			setupMocks: func(m *gceManagerMock) {
-				m.On("GetMigForInstance", nodeRef).Return(mig, nil).Once()
-			},
-			expectExists: true,
-		},
-	} {
-		t.Run(tc.name, func(t *testing.T) {
-			gceManagerMock := &gceManagerMock{}
-			tc.setupMocks(gceManagerMock)
-			defer mock.AssertExpectationsForObjects(t, gceManagerMock)
-			gce := &GceCloudProvider{gceManager: gceManagerMock}
-
-			exists, err := gce.HasInstance(tc.node())
-			if tc.expectErr {
-				assert.Error(t, err)
-			} else {
-				assert.NoError(t, err)
-				assert.Equal(t, tc.expectExists, exists)
-			}
-		})
-	}
-}
-
 func createString(s string) *string {
 	return &s
 }