diff --git a/workers/tests/test_model.py b/workers/tests/test_model.py
index 250a4ae..a683258 100644
--- a/workers/tests/test_model.py
+++ b/workers/tests/test_model.py
@@ -12,6 +12,32 @@ def test_model_returns_singleton(monkeypatch):
             assert a is b
 
 
+def test_uses_gpu_when_available(monkeypatch):
+    monkeypatch.setattr(model, "_whisper_model", None)
+    with patch("void_workers.model.cuda_available", return_value=True):
+        with patch("faster_whisper.WhisperModel", return_value=MagicMock()) as WM:
+            model.whisper_model()
+            assert WM.call_args.kwargs["device"] == "cuda"
+            assert WM.call_args.kwargs["compute_type"] == "float16"
+
+
+def test_falls_back_to_cpu_when_cuda_load_fails(monkeypatch):
+    # GPU is present but the model fails to load (e.g. VRAM exhausted): must
+    # not raise — fall back to a CPU model instead of crashing the job.
+    monkeypatch.setattr(model, "_whisper_model", None)
+    cpu_model = MagicMock()
+
+    def fake_ctor(name, device, compute_type, download_root):
+        if device == "cuda":
+            raise RuntimeError("CUDA failed to allocate memory")
+        return cpu_model
+
+    with patch("void_workers.model.cuda_available", return_value=True):
+        with patch("faster_whisper.WhisperModel", side_effect=fake_ctor):
+            got = model.whisper_model()
+    assert got is cpu_model
+
+
 def test_transcribe_returns_joined_segments(monkeypatch):
     seg1 = MagicMock(text=" Hello world ")
     seg2 = MagicMock(text=" second line")
diff --git a/workers/void_workers/model.py b/workers/void_workers/model.py
index 0212671..727bf60 100644
--- a/workers/void_workers/model.py
+++ b/workers/void_workers/model.py
@@ -13,19 +13,32 @@ def cuda_available():
         return False
 
 
+def _load_whisper(device, compute_type):
+    from faster_whisper import WhisperModel
+    name = os.environ.get("WHISPER_MODEL", "small.en")
+    cache = os.environ.get("WHISPER_CACHE", "/var/lib/void/whisper-models")
+    log.info("whisper_loading", model=name, device=device,
+             compute_type=compute_type, cache=cache)
+    return WhisperModel(
+        name, device=device, compute_type=compute_type, download_root=cache
+    )
+
+
 def whisper_model():
     global _whisper_model
     if _whisper_model is None:
-        from faster_whisper import WhisperModel
-        name = os.environ.get("WHISPER_MODEL", "small.en")
-        cache = os.environ.get("WHISPER_CACHE", "/var/lib/void/whisper-models")
-        device = "cuda" if cuda_available() else "cpu"
-        compute_type = "float16" if device == "cuda" else "int8"
-        log.info("whisper_loading", model=name, device=device,
-                 compute_type=compute_type, cache=cache)
-        _whisper_model = WhisperModel(
-            name, device=device, compute_type=compute_type, download_root=cache
-        )
+        # Prefer the GPU when present, but fall back to CPU if the GPU is
+        # absent OR unusable at load time (e.g. VRAM already exhausted by
+        # another process sharing the card). HA portability + a shared GPU
+        # mean this must degrade gracefully, never hard-fail a transcription.
+        if cuda_available():
+            try:
+                _whisper_model = _load_whisper("cuda", "float16")
+            except Exception as e:
+                log.warning("whisper_cuda_load_failed_fallback_cpu", err=str(e))
+                _whisper_model = None
+        if _whisper_model is None:
+            _whisper_model = _load_whisper("cpu", "int8")
     return _whisper_model