diff --git a/apis/v1beta1/vspherecluster_types.go b/apis/v1beta1/vspherecluster_types.go
index d6436c17dd..aaa07a5829 100644
--- a/apis/v1beta1/vspherecluster_types.go
+++ b/apis/v1beta1/vspherecluster_types.go
@@ -61,7 +61,9 @@ type VSphereClusterSpec struct {
 
 	// FailureDomainSelector is the label selector to use for failure domain selection
 	// for the control plane nodes of the cluster.
-	// An empty value for the selector includes all the related failure domains.
+	// If not set (`nil`), selecting failure domains will be disabled.
+	// An empty value (`{}`) selects all existing failure domains.
+	// A valid selector will select all failure domains which match the selector.
 	// +optional
 	FailureDomainSelector *metav1.LabelSelector `json:"failureDomainSelector,omitempty"`
 }
diff --git a/config/default/crd/bases/infrastructure.cluster.x-k8s.io_vsphereclusters.yaml b/config/default/crd/bases/infrastructure.cluster.x-k8s.io_vsphereclusters.yaml
index e0a79548ea..7a1515b1a3 100644
--- a/config/default/crd/bases/infrastructure.cluster.x-k8s.io_vsphereclusters.yaml
+++ b/config/default/crd/bases/infrastructure.cluster.x-k8s.io_vsphereclusters.yaml
@@ -651,8 +651,9 @@ spec:
               failureDomainSelector:
                 description: FailureDomainSelector is the label selector to use for
                   failure domain selection for the control plane nodes of the cluster.
-                  An empty value for the selector includes all the related failure
-                  domains.
+                  If not set (`nil`), selecting failure domains will be disabled.
+                  An empty value (`{}`) selects all existing failure domains. A valid
+                  selector will select all failure domains which match the selector.
                 properties:
                   matchExpressions:
                     description: matchExpressions is a list of label selector requirements.
diff --git a/config/default/crd/bases/infrastructure.cluster.x-k8s.io_vsphereclustertemplates.yaml b/config/default/crd/bases/infrastructure.cluster.x-k8s.io_vsphereclustertemplates.yaml
index 254cfff7c2..46147bd4c4 100644
--- a/config/default/crd/bases/infrastructure.cluster.x-k8s.io_vsphereclustertemplates.yaml
+++ b/config/default/crd/bases/infrastructure.cluster.x-k8s.io_vsphereclustertemplates.yaml
@@ -171,8 +171,10 @@ spec:
                       failureDomainSelector:
                         description: FailureDomainSelector is the label selector to
                           use for failure domain selection for the control plane nodes
-                          of the cluster. An empty value for the selector includes
-                          all the related failure domains.
+                          of the cluster. If not set (`nil`), selecting failure domains
+                          will be disabled. An empty value (`{}`) selects all existing
+                          failure domains. A valid selector will select all failure
+                          domains which match the selector.
                         properties:
                           matchExpressions:
                             description: matchExpressions is a list of label selector