diff --git a/lib/tempest b/lib/tempest
index 064d618a7e..d0d17014db 100644
--- a/lib/tempest
+++ b/lib/tempest
@@ -57,7 +57,7 @@ BUILD_TIMEOUT=${BUILD_TIMEOUT:-196}
 # This must be False on stable branches, as master tempest
 # deps do not match stable branch deps. Set this to True to
 # have tempest installed in DevStack by default.
-INSTALL_TEMPEST=${INSTALL_TEMPEST:-"True"}
+INSTALL_TEMPEST=${INSTALL_TEMPEST:-"False"}
 
 # This variable is passed directly to pip install inside the common tox venv
 # that is created