diff --git a/lib/internal/util/inspect.js b/lib/internal/util/inspect.js
index 4cff372b330ec1..312308b86f290b 100644
--- a/lib/internal/util/inspect.js
+++ b/lib/internal/util/inspect.js
@@ -297,9 +297,8 @@ function strEscape(str) {
       last = i + 1;
     }
   }
-  if (last === 0) {
-    result = str;
-  } else if (last !== i) {
+
+  if (last !== i) {
     result += str.slice(last);
   }
   return addQuotes(result, singleQuote);