diff --git a/tarball/tarball_reference.go b/tarball/tarball_reference.go
index 4ccfb40630..a0819ac580 100644
--- a/tarball/tarball_reference.go
+++ b/tarball/tarball_reference.go
@@ -89,5 +89,5 @@ func (r *tarballReference) DeleteImage(ctx *types.SystemContext) error {
 }
 
 func (r *tarballReference) NewImageDestination(ctx *types.SystemContext) (types.ImageDestination, error) {
-	return nil, fmt.Errorf("destination not implemented yet")
+	return nil, fmt.Errorf(`"tarball:" locations can only be read from, not written to`)
 }