diff --git a/.changeset/slow-bananas-beam.md b/.changeset/slow-bananas-beam.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..40bc5f21e9
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.changeset/slow-bananas-beam.md
@@ -0,0 +1,5 @@
+---
+'@backstage/cli': patch
+---
+
+Only allow pass through of `.mjs` in Jest transform if static ESM is supported.
diff --git a/packages/cli/config/jestSwcTransform.js b/packages/cli/config/jestSwcTransform.js
index a77683b939..4183349554 100644
--- a/packages/cli/config/jestSwcTransform.js
+++ b/packages/cli/config/jestSwcTransform.js
@@ -29,7 +29,7 @@ function createTransformer(config) {
     }
 
     // Skip transformation of .mjs files, they should only be used if ESM support is available
-    if (filePath.endsWith('.mjs')) {
+    if (jestOptions.supportsStaticESM && filePath.endsWith('.mjs')) {
       return { code: source };
     }