diff --git a/packages/vite/src/node/plugins/importAnalysisBuild.ts b/packages/vite/src/node/plugins/importAnalysisBuild.ts
index bb5b50f93cdbb9..d816d4c1995fd8 100644
--- a/packages/vite/src/node/plugins/importAnalysisBuild.ts
+++ b/packages/vite/src/node/plugins/importAnalysisBuild.ts
@@ -75,7 +75,9 @@ function preload(baseModule: () => Promise<{}>, deps?: string[]) {
       if (isCss) {
         return new Promise((res, rej) => {
           link.addEventListener('load', res)
-          link.addEventListener('error', rej)
+          link.addEventListener('error', () =>
+            rej(new Error(`Unable to preload CSS for ${dep}`))
+          )
         })
       }
     })