diff --git a/pkg/minikube/constants/constants.go b/pkg/minikube/constants/constants.go
index 79edd13fe9..1c8e915f16 100644
--- a/pkg/minikube/constants/constants.go
+++ b/pkg/minikube/constants/constants.go
@@ -65,10 +65,10 @@ var DefaultISOURL = fmt.Sprintf("https://storage.googleapis.com/%s/minikube-%s.i
 var DefaultISOSHAURL = DefaultISOURL + SHASuffix
 
 // DefaultKubernetesVersion is the default kubernetes version
-var DefaultKubernetesVersion = "v1.17.0-beta.1"
+var DefaultKubernetesVersion = "v1.17.0-rc.1"
 
 // NewestKubernetesVersion is the newest Kubernetes version to test against
-var NewestKubernetesVersion = "v1.17.0-beta.1"
+var NewestKubernetesVersion = "v1.17.0-rc.1"
 
 // OldestKubernetesVersion is the oldest Kubernetes version to test against
 var OldestKubernetesVersion = "v1.11.10"