diff --git a/cmd/talosctl/cmd/mgmt/cluster/create.go b/cmd/talosctl/cmd/mgmt/cluster/create.go
index be237b4679..d3c5334d5e 100644
--- a/cmd/talosctl/cmd/mgmt/cluster/create.go
+++ b/cmd/talosctl/cmd/mgmt/cluster/create.go
@@ -119,6 +119,7 @@ var (
 	nodeVmlinuzPath           string
 	nodeInitramfsPath         string
 	nodeISOPath               string
+	nodeUSBPath               string
 	nodeDiskImagePath         string
 	nodeIPXEBootScript        string
 	applyConfigEnabled        bool
@@ -223,6 +224,9 @@ func downloadBootAssets(ctx context.Context) error {
 		{
 			path: &nodeISOPath,
 		},
+		{
+			path: &nodeUSBPath,
+		},
 		{
 			path: &nodeDiskImagePath,
 		},
@@ -462,6 +466,7 @@ func create(ctx context.Context) error {
 		KernelPath:     nodeVmlinuzPath,
 		InitramfsPath:  nodeInitramfsPath,
 		ISOPath:        nodeISOPath,
+		USBPath:        nodeUSBPath,
 		IPXEBootScript: nodeIPXEBootScript,
 		DiskImagePath:  nodeDiskImagePath,
 
@@ -1239,6 +1244,7 @@ func init() {
 	createCmd.Flags().StringVar(&nodeInstallImage, nodeInstallImageFlag, helpers.DefaultImage(images.DefaultInstallerImageRepository), "the installer image to use")
 	createCmd.Flags().StringVar(&nodeVmlinuzPath, "vmlinuz-path", helpers.ArtifactPath(constants.KernelAssetWithArch), "the compressed kernel image to use")
 	createCmd.Flags().StringVar(&nodeISOPath, "iso-path", "", "the ISO path to use for the initial boot (VM only)")
+	createCmd.Flags().StringVar(&nodeUSBPath, "usb-path", "", "the USB stick image path to use for the initial boot (VM only)")
 	createCmd.Flags().StringVar(&nodeInitramfsPath, "initrd-path", helpers.ArtifactPath(constants.InitramfsAssetWithArch), "initramfs image to use")
 	createCmd.Flags().StringVar(&nodeDiskImagePath, "disk-image-path", "", "disk image to use")
 	createCmd.Flags().StringVar(&nodeIPXEBootScript, "ipxe-boot-script", "", "iPXE boot script (URL) to use")
diff --git a/pkg/provision/providers/qemu/launch.go b/pkg/provision/providers/qemu/launch.go
index 4a06f0f0d3..d73f231d03 100644
--- a/pkg/provision/providers/qemu/launch.go
+++ b/pkg/provision/providers/qemu/launch.go
@@ -47,6 +47,7 @@ type LaunchConfig struct {
 	KernelImagePath   string
 	InitrdPath        string
 	ISOPath           string
+	USBPath           string
 	ExtraISOPath      string
 	PFlashImages      []string
 	KernelArgs        string
@@ -439,12 +440,19 @@ func launchVM(config *LaunchConfig) error {
 	}
 
 	if !diskBootable || !config.BootloaderEnabled {
-		if config.ISOPath != "" {
+		switch {
+		case config.ISOPath != "":
 			args = append(args,
 				"-drive",
 				fmt.Sprintf("file=%s,media=cdrom", config.ISOPath),
 			)
-		} else if config.KernelImagePath != "" {
+		case config.USBPath != "":
+			args = append(args,
+				"-drive", fmt.Sprintf("if=none,id=stick,format=raw,file=%s", config.USBPath),
+				"-device", "nec-usb-xhci,id=xhci",
+				"-device", "usb-storage,bus=xhci.0,drive=stick,removable=on",
+			)
+		case config.KernelImagePath != "":
 			args = append(args,
 				"-kernel", config.KernelImagePath,
 				"-initrd", config.InitrdPath,
diff --git a/pkg/provision/providers/qemu/node.go b/pkg/provision/providers/qemu/node.go
index be1d8e5a18..0c235aee31 100644
--- a/pkg/provision/providers/qemu/node.go
+++ b/pkg/provision/providers/qemu/node.go
@@ -221,6 +221,7 @@ func (p *provisioner) createNode(state *vm.State, clusterReq provision.ClusterRe
 		launchConfig.KernelImagePath = strings.ReplaceAll(clusterReq.KernelPath, constants.ArchVariable, opts.TargetArch)
 		launchConfig.InitrdPath = strings.ReplaceAll(clusterReq.InitramfsPath, constants.ArchVariable, opts.TargetArch)
 		launchConfig.ISOPath = strings.ReplaceAll(clusterReq.ISOPath, constants.ArchVariable, opts.TargetArch)
+		launchConfig.USBPath = strings.ReplaceAll(clusterReq.USBPath, constants.ArchVariable, opts.TargetArch)
 	}
 
 	launchConfig.StatePath, err = state.StatePath()
diff --git a/pkg/provision/request.go b/pkg/provision/request.go
index d8f831319f..a682f82a58 100644
--- a/pkg/provision/request.go
+++ b/pkg/provision/request.go
@@ -33,6 +33,7 @@ type ClusterRequest struct {
 	KernelPath     string
 	InitramfsPath  string
 	ISOPath        string
+	USBPath        string
 	DiskImagePath  string
 	IPXEBootScript string
 
diff --git a/website/content/v1.9/reference/cli.md b/website/content/v1.9/reference/cli.md
index 7074170d26..3c35282c97 100644
--- a/website/content/v1.9/reference/cli.md
+++ b/website/content/v1.9/reference/cli.md
@@ -198,6 +198,7 @@ talosctl cluster create [flags]
       --skip-kubeconfig                          skip merging kubeconfig from the created cluster
       --talos-version string                     the desired Talos version to generate config for (if not set, defaults to image version)
       --talosconfig string                       The path to the Talos configuration file. Defaults to 'TALOSCONFIG' env variable if set, otherwise '$HOME/.talos/config' and '/var/run/secrets/talos.dev/config' in order.
+      --usb-path string                          the USB stick image path to use for the initial boot (VM only)
       --use-vip                                  use a virtual IP for the controlplane endpoint instead of the loadbalancer
       --user-disk strings                        list of disks to create for each VM in format: <mount_point1>:<size1>:<mount_point2>:<size2>
       --vmlinuz-path string                      the compressed kernel image to use (default "_out/vmlinuz-${ARCH}")