diff --git a/packer/provision/basebuild.sh b/packer/provision/basebuild.sh
index b1ff0d4..f7aba2b 100644
--- a/packer/provision/basebuild.sh
+++ b/packer/provision/basebuild.sh
@@ -163,6 +163,12 @@
     rm -f minikube.deb
     popd
 
+    # give sudo permissions on minikube to jenkins user, so `minikube init` can be run
+    cat <<EOF >/etc/sudoers.d/88-jenkins-minikube
+Defaults:jenkins !requiretty
+jenkins ALL=(ALL) NOPASSWD:SETENV: /usr/bin/minikube
+EOF
+
     # clean up
     apt-get clean
     apt-get purge -y