Qualified Electric Vehicle

"Qualified," as in qualified for a tax deduction.

In the early days of Tesla and Leaf and others, being "qualified" was a big deal. The companies lobbied states to give rebates to buyers of these cars, arguing that they helped mitigate the carbon footprint left by gas-guzzling cars. Many states complied, and gave up to 15 grand in tax credits for cars purchased during the 2012-2016 era, but then gradually did away with that credit when the electric car industry was clearly taking off and becoming big.