--- a/setup.py
+++ b/setup.py
@@ -340,14 +340,7 @@ def _is_hpu() -> bool:
         out = subprocess.run(["hl-smi"], capture_output=True, check=True)
         is_hpu_available = out.returncode == 0
     except (FileNotFoundError, PermissionError, subprocess.CalledProcessError):
-        if sys.platform.startswith("linux"):
-            try:
-                output = subprocess.check_output(
-                    'lsmod | grep habanalabs | wc -l', shell=True)
-                is_hpu_available = int(output) > 0
-            except (ValueError, FileNotFoundError, PermissionError,
-                    subprocess.CalledProcessError):
-                pass
+        is_hpu_available = False
     return is_hpu_available