diff --git a/models/running_input.go b/models/running_input.go
index 0b2197f05..865c784e8 100644
--- a/models/running_input.go
+++ b/models/running_input.go
@@ -132,7 +132,7 @@ func (r *RunningInput) Start(acc telegraf.Accumulator) error {
 
 	// Check if the plugin reports a retry-able error, otherwise we exit.
 	var serr *internal.StartupError
-	if !errors.As(err, &serr) || !serr.Retry {
+	if !errors.As(err, &serr) {
 		return err
 	}
 
@@ -140,6 +140,9 @@ func (r *RunningInput) Start(acc telegraf.Accumulator) error {
 	switch r.Config.StartupErrorBehavior {
 	case "", "error": // fall-trough to return the actual error
 	case "retry":
+		if !serr.Retry {
+			return err
+		}
 		r.log.Infof("Startup failed: %v; retrying...", err)
 		return nil
 	case "ignore":
diff --git a/plugins/inputs/nvidia_smi/README.md b/plugins/inputs/nvidia_smi/README.md
index 58dabcf79..c493ff357 100644
--- a/plugins/inputs/nvidia_smi/README.md
+++ b/plugins/inputs/nvidia_smi/README.md
@@ -13,6 +13,18 @@ See the [CONFIGURATION.md][CONFIGURATION.md] for more details.
 
 [CONFIGURATION.md]: ../../../docs/CONFIGURATION.md#plugins
 
+## Startup error behavior options
+
+In addition to the plugin-specific and global configuration settings the plugin
+supports options for specifying the behavior when experiencing startup errors
+using the `startup_error_behavior` setting. Available values are:
+
+- `error`:  Telegraf with stop and exit in case of startup errors. This is the
+            default behavior.
+- `ignore`: Telegraf will ignore startup errors for this plugin and disables it
+            but continues processing for all other plugins.
+- `retry`:  NOT AVAILABLE
+
 ## Configuration
 
 ```toml @sample.conf
@@ -23,12 +35,6 @@ See the [CONFIGURATION.md][CONFIGURATION.md] for more details.
   ## if it is not found, we will try to locate it on PATH(exec.LookPath), if it is still not found, an error will be returned
   # bin_path = "/usr/bin/nvidia-smi"
 
-  ## Optional: specifies plugin behavior regarding missing nvidia-smi binary
-  ## Available choices:
-  ##   - error: telegraf will return an error on startup
-  ##   - ignore: telegraf will ignore this plugin
-  # startup_error_behavior = "error"
-
   ## Optional: timeout for GPU polling
   # timeout = "5s"
 ```
diff --git a/plugins/inputs/nvidia_smi/nvidia_smi.go b/plugins/inputs/nvidia_smi/nvidia_smi.go
index 78953678a..695b8c6f6 100644
--- a/plugins/inputs/nvidia_smi/nvidia_smi.go
+++ b/plugins/inputs/nvidia_smi/nvidia_smi.go
@@ -27,10 +27,9 @@ var sampleConfig string
 
 // NvidiaSMI holds the methods for this plugin
 type NvidiaSMI struct {
-	BinPath              string          `toml:"bin_path"`
-	Timeout              config.Duration `toml:"timeout"`
-	StartupErrorBehavior string          `toml:"startup_error_behavior"`
-	Log                  telegraf.Logger `toml:"-"`
+	BinPath string          `toml:"bin_path"`
+	Timeout config.Duration `toml:"timeout"`
+	Log     telegraf.Logger `toml:"-"`
 
 	ignorePlugin bool
 	once         sync.Once
@@ -40,20 +39,11 @@ func (*NvidiaSMI) SampleConfig() string {
 	return sampleConfig
 }
 
-func (smi *NvidiaSMI) Init() error {
+func (smi *NvidiaSMI) Start(telegraf.Accumulator) error {
 	if _, err := os.Stat(smi.BinPath); os.IsNotExist(err) {
 		binPath, err := exec.LookPath("nvidia-smi")
 		if err != nil {
-			switch smi.StartupErrorBehavior {
-			case "ignore":
-				smi.ignorePlugin = true
-				smi.Log.Warnf("nvidia-smi not found on the system, ignoring: %s", err)
-				return nil
-			case "", "error":
-				return fmt.Errorf("nvidia-smi not found in %q and not in PATH; please make sure nvidia-smi is installed and/or is in PATH", smi.BinPath)
-			default:
-				return fmt.Errorf("unknown startup behavior setting: %s", smi.StartupErrorBehavior)
-			}
+			return &internal.StartupError{Err: err}
 		}
 		smi.BinPath = binPath
 	}
@@ -61,6 +51,8 @@ func (smi *NvidiaSMI) Init() error {
 	return nil
 }
 
+func (smi *NvidiaSMI) Stop() {}
+
 // Gather implements the telegraf interface
 func (smi *NvidiaSMI) Gather(acc telegraf.Accumulator) error {
 	if smi.ignorePlugin {
diff --git a/plugins/inputs/nvidia_smi/nvidia_smi_test.go b/plugins/inputs/nvidia_smi/nvidia_smi_test.go
index 578f1da9f..1478b6c33 100644
--- a/plugins/inputs/nvidia_smi/nvidia_smi_test.go
+++ b/plugins/inputs/nvidia_smi/nvidia_smi_test.go
@@ -1,27 +1,19 @@
 package nvidia_smi
 
 import (
+	"errors"
 	"os"
 	"path/filepath"
 	"testing"
 	"time"
 
 	"github.com/influxdata/telegraf"
+	"github.com/influxdata/telegraf/internal"
+	"github.com/influxdata/telegraf/models"
 	"github.com/influxdata/telegraf/testutil"
 	"github.com/stretchr/testify/require"
 )
 
-func TestErrorBehaviorError(t *testing.T) {
-	// make sure we can't find nvidia-smi in $PATH somewhere
-	os.Unsetenv("PATH")
-	plugin := &NvidiaSMI{
-		BinPath:              "/random/non-existent/path",
-		Log:                  &testutil.Logger{},
-		StartupErrorBehavior: "error",
-	}
-	require.Error(t, plugin.Init())
-}
-
 func TestErrorBehaviorDefault(t *testing.T) {
 	// make sure we can't find nvidia-smi in $PATH somewhere
 	os.Unsetenv("PATH")
@@ -29,31 +21,72 @@ func TestErrorBehaviorDefault(t *testing.T) {
 		BinPath: "/random/non-existent/path",
 		Log:     &testutil.Logger{},
 	}
-	require.Error(t, plugin.Init())
+	model := models.NewRunningInput(plugin, &models.InputConfig{
+		Name: "nvidia_smi",
+	})
+	require.NoError(t, model.Init())
+
+	var acc testutil.Accumulator
+	var ferr *internal.FatalError
+	require.False(t, errors.As(model.Start(&acc), &ferr))
+	require.ErrorIs(t, model.Gather(&acc), internal.ErrNotConnected)
+}
+
+func TestErrorBehaviorError(t *testing.T) {
+	// make sure we can't find nvidia-smi in $PATH somewhere
+	os.Unsetenv("PATH")
+	plugin := &NvidiaSMI{
+		BinPath: "/random/non-existent/path",
+		Log:     &testutil.Logger{},
+	}
+	model := models.NewRunningInput(plugin, &models.InputConfig{
+		Name:                 "nvidia_smi",
+		StartupErrorBehavior: "error",
+	})
+	require.NoError(t, model.Init())
+
+	var acc testutil.Accumulator
+	var ferr *internal.FatalError
+	require.False(t, errors.As(model.Start(&acc), &ferr))
+	require.ErrorIs(t, model.Gather(&acc), internal.ErrNotConnected)
+}
+
+func TestErrorBehaviorRetry(t *testing.T) {
+	// make sure we can't find nvidia-smi in $PATH somewhere
+	os.Unsetenv("PATH")
+	plugin := &NvidiaSMI{
+		BinPath: "/random/non-existent/path",
+		Log:     &testutil.Logger{},
+	}
+	model := models.NewRunningInput(plugin, &models.InputConfig{
+		Name:                 "nvidia_smi",
+		StartupErrorBehavior: "retry",
+	})
+	require.NoError(t, model.Init())
+
+	var acc testutil.Accumulator
+	var ferr *internal.FatalError
+	require.False(t, errors.As(model.Start(&acc), &ferr))
+	require.ErrorIs(t, model.Gather(&acc), internal.ErrNotConnected)
 }
 
 func TestErrorBehaviorIgnore(t *testing.T) {
 	// make sure we can't find nvidia-smi in $PATH somewhere
 	os.Unsetenv("PATH")
 	plugin := &NvidiaSMI{
-		BinPath:              "/random/non-existent/path",
-		Log:                  &testutil.Logger{},
+		BinPath: "/random/non-existent/path",
+		Log:     &testutil.Logger{},
+	}
+	model := models.NewRunningInput(plugin, &models.InputConfig{
+		Name:                 "nvidia_smi",
 		StartupErrorBehavior: "ignore",
-	}
-	require.NoError(t, plugin.Init())
-	acc := testutil.Accumulator{}
-	require.NoError(t, plugin.Gather(&acc))
-}
+	})
+	require.NoError(t, model.Init())
 
-func TestErrorBehaviorInvalidOption(t *testing.T) {
-	// make sure we can't find nvidia-smi in $PATH somewhere
-	os.Unsetenv("PATH")
-	plugin := &NvidiaSMI{
-		BinPath:              "/random/non-existent/path",
-		Log:                  &testutil.Logger{},
-		StartupErrorBehavior: "giveup",
-	}
-	require.Error(t, plugin.Init())
+	var acc testutil.Accumulator
+	var ferr *internal.FatalError
+	require.ErrorAs(t, model.Start(&acc), &ferr)
+	require.ErrorIs(t, model.Gather(&acc), internal.ErrNotConnected)
 }
 
 func TestGatherValidXML(t *testing.T) {
diff --git a/plugins/inputs/nvidia_smi/sample.conf b/plugins/inputs/nvidia_smi/sample.conf
index dee34936d..8879b3923 100644
--- a/plugins/inputs/nvidia_smi/sample.conf
+++ b/plugins/inputs/nvidia_smi/sample.conf
@@ -5,11 +5,5 @@
   ## if it is not found, we will try to locate it on PATH(exec.LookPath), if it is still not found, an error will be returned
   # bin_path = "/usr/bin/nvidia-smi"
 
-  ## Optional: specifies plugin behavior regarding missing nvidia-smi binary
-  ## Available choices:
-  ##   - error: telegraf will return an error on startup
-  ##   - ignore: telegraf will ignore this plugin
-  # startup_error_behavior = "error"
-
   ## Optional: timeout for GPU polling
   # timeout = "5s"