diff --git a/src/user/user_model.cc b/src/user/user_model.cc
index dc1fa88b..624b77c2 100644
--- a/src/user/user_model.cc
+++ b/src/user/user_model.cc
@@ -4748,7 +4748,7 @@ void mjCModel::TryCompile(mjModel*& m, mjData*& d, const mjVFS* vfs) {
   SetNuser();
 
   // compile meshes (needed for geom compilation)
-  if (!compiler.usethread && meshes_.size() > 1) {
+  if (compiler.usethread && meshes_.size() > 1) {
     // multi-threaded mesh compile
     CompileMeshes(vfs);
   } else {