diff --git a/autogen.sh b/autogen.sh
index 2c83919fc..f07bbe48b 100755
--- a/autogen.sh
+++ b/autogen.sh
@@ -15,7 +15,9 @@ set -x
 rm -rf autom4te.cache config.status
 if test -d .git -a -f build-aux/git-version-gen; then
     git fetch --tags
-    rm .tarball-version
+    if [ -f .tarball-version ]; then
+        rm .tarball-version
+    fi
     v=$(build-aux/git-version-gen .tarball-version)
     echo $v >.tarball-version
     echo $v >.version