diff --git a/dist/tools/esptool/esptool.py b/dist/tools/esptool/esptool.py
index cd70056e95..17c703dfcf 100755
--- a/dist/tools/esptool/esptool.py
+++ b/dist/tools/esptool/esptool.py
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-#!/usr/bin/env python
+#!/usr/bin/env python3
 #
 # ESP8266 & ESP32 ROM Bootloader Utility
 # Copyright (C) 2014-2016 Fredrik Ahlberg, Angus Gratton, Espressif Systems (Shanghai) PTE LTD, other contributors as noted.