Volvo didn't apply the Federal tax credit to the XC40 Recharge leases when the model was first launched a few months ago, but they are now. Unfortunately their remaining lease terms aren't very attractive and I don't think dealers are negotiating much on price yet. BMW, which has a history of subsidizing leases, isn't applying the tax credit to the capitalized cost for leases of the X5 45e PHEV. It appears that manufacturers are using the tax credit like any other incentive, so deals aren't very good for newly introduced vehicles but may improve over time.
If you can negotiate an attractive discount on the capitalized cost and get the dealer to apply the tax credit against it, then leasing an EV may be a good option but I wouldn't prepay anything and instead just accept the finance charges as the cost of capturing the tax credit in a lease when you otherwise wouldn't qualify for it. Perhaps you can save money by opting for the shortest lease possible and buying the vehicle at the end. Pre-paying a lease involves financial risk if the vehicle is totaled, since insurance will pay market value which would have dropped significantly at the front end of the lease and effectively your prepayments could be forfeit. One of the benefits of a lease is being able to walk away from a loss like that, but prepaying the lease negates the benefit. I assume you wouldn’t need to pay for Gap insurance if you prepay a lease, and if so perhaps that would make up for the increased risk of loss.
It would be nice if the Federal tax credit was replaced by a point-of-sale rebate which would also benefit lower income buyers, but Congress isn't making much progress on anything these days so that will probably be a long wait.
The Mustachean answer would be to purchase a used EV because its market value should already be discounted by the original owner's tax credit and a steep depreciation curve due to rapidly evolving EV technology.