diff --git a/cmd/kubectl-testkube/commands/init.go b/cmd/kubectl-testkube/commands/init.go
index 32e2c927407..de335562023 100644
--- a/cmd/kubectl-testkube/commands/init.go
+++ b/cmd/kubectl-testkube/commands/init.go
@@ -121,11 +121,12 @@ func NewInitCmdDemo() *cobra.Command {
 
 			if license == "" {
 				response, err := pterm.DefaultInteractiveTextInput.Show("Enter license key")
-				license = response
+				license = strings.TrimSpace(response)
 				ui.ExitOnError("cannot read license", err)
 			}
 
 			if len(license) != len(licenseFormat) {
+				sendErrTelemetry(cmd, cfg, "install_license_malformed", license, err)
 				ui.Failf("license malformed, expected license of format: " + licenseFormat)
 			}