diff --git a/backends/python/server/text_embeddings_server/models/__init__.py b/backends/python/server/text_embeddings_server/models/__init__.py
index 72ec500d..a2258be0 100644
--- a/backends/python/server/text_embeddings_server/models/__init__.py
+++ b/backends/python/server/text_embeddings_server/models/__init__.py
@@ -65,7 +65,15 @@ def get_model(model_path: Path, dtype: Optional[str], pool: str):
                 return DefaultModel(
                     model_path, device, datatype, pool, trust_remote=TRUST_REMOTE_CODE
                 )
-            return FlashBert(model_path, device, datatype)
+            try:
+                return FlashBert(model_path, device, datatype)
+            except FileNotFoundError as e:
+                logger.info(
+                    "Do not have safetensors file for this model, use default transformers model path instead"
+                )
+                return DefaultModel(
+                    model_path, device, datatype, pool, trust_remote=TRUST_REMOTE_CODE
+                )
         if config.architectures[0].endswith("Classification"):
             return ClassificationModel(
                 model_path, device, datatype, trust_remote=TRUST_REMOTE_CODE