diff --git a/pkg/drivers/qemu/qemu.go b/pkg/drivers/qemu/qemu.go
index eeaef276b9..2919735d9c 100644
--- a/pkg/drivers/qemu/qemu.go
+++ b/pkg/drivers/qemu/qemu.go
@@ -270,6 +270,10 @@ func parsePortRange(rawPortRange string) (int, int, error) {
 
 	portRange := strings.Split(rawPortRange, "-")
 
+	if len(portRange) < 2 {
+		return 0, 0, errors.New("Invalid port range, must be at least of length 2")
+	}
+
 	minPort, err := strconv.Atoi(portRange[0])
 	if err != nil {
 		return 0, 0, errors.Wrap(err, "Invalid port range")
@@ -337,10 +341,6 @@ func (d *Driver) Start() error {
 
 	if d.MachineType != "" {
 		machineType := d.MachineType
-		if runtime.GOOS == "darwin" {
-			// highmem=off needed, see https://patchwork.kernel.org/project/qemu-devel/patch/20201126215017.41156-9-agraf@csgraf.de/#23800615 for details
-			machineType += ",highmem=off"
-		}
 		startCmd = append(startCmd,
 			"-M", machineType,
 		)
@@ -380,10 +380,10 @@ func (d *Driver) Start() error {
 	}
 
 	// hardware acceleration is important, it increases performance by 10x
-	// kvm acceleration doesn't currently work for linux, it's incompatible with our chosen CPU
-	// once that's fixed we should add a branch for linux
 	if runtime.GOOS == "darwin" {
 		startCmd = append(startCmd, "-accel", "hvf")
+	} else if _, err := os.Stat("/dev/kvm"); err == nil && runtime.GOOS == "linux" {
+		startCmd = append(startCmd, "-accel", "kvm")
 	}
 
 	startCmd = append(startCmd,
@@ -425,13 +425,6 @@ func (d *Driver) Start() error {
 
 	startCmd = append(startCmd, "-daemonize")
 
-	// other options
-	// "-enable-kvm" if its available
-	// TODO (#14171): re-enable this once kvm acceleration is fixed
-	/*if _, err := os.Stat("/dev/kvm"); err == nil {
-		startCmd = append(startCmd, "-enable-kvm")
-	}*/
-
 	if d.CloudConfigRoot != "" {
 		startCmd = append(startCmd,
 			"-fsdev",
diff --git a/pkg/minikube/registry/drvs/qemu2/qemu2.go b/pkg/minikube/registry/drvs/qemu2/qemu2.go
index aa721cae35..5cd70e58f1 100644
--- a/pkg/minikube/registry/drvs/qemu2/qemu2.go
+++ b/pkg/minikube/registry/drvs/qemu2/qemu2.go
@@ -68,11 +68,16 @@ func qemuFirmwarePath() (string, error) {
 	arch := runtime.GOARCH
 	// For macOS, find the correct brew installation path for qemu firmware
 	if runtime.GOOS == "darwin" {
-		p := "/usr/local/Cellar/qemu"
-		fw := "share/qemu/edk2-x86_64-code.fd"
-		if arch == "arm64" {
+		var p, fw string
+		switch arch {
+		case "amd64":
+			p = "/usr/local/Cellar/qemu"
+			fw = "share/qemu/edk2-x86_64-code.fd"
+		case "arm64":
 			p = "/opt/homebrew/Cellar/qemu"
 			fw = "share/qemu/edk2-aarch64-code.fd"
+		default:
+			return "", fmt.Errorf("unknown arch: %s", arch)
 		}
 
 		v, err := ioutil.ReadDir(p)
@@ -111,6 +116,13 @@ func configure(cc config.ClusterConfig, n config.Node) (interface{}, error) {
 	case "arm64":
 		qemuMachine = "virt"
 		qemuCPU = "cortex-a72"
+		// highmem=off needed, see https://patchwork.kernel.org/project/qemu-devel/patch/20201126215017.41156-9-agraf@csgraf.de/#23800615 for details
+		if runtime.GOOS == "darwin" {
+			qemuMachine = "virt,highmem=off"
+		} else if _, err := os.Stat("/dev/kvm"); err == nil {
+			qemuMachine = "virt,gic-version=3"
+			qemuCPU = "host"
+		}
 	default:
 		return nil, fmt.Errorf("unknown arch: %s", runtime.GOARCH)
 	}