Hyundai today debuted its first hydrogen fuel-cell vehicle in the United States. The carmaker handed the keys over to California resident Timothy Bush, who will pay $499 per month to drive the green vehicle.

As an incentive to try out this burgeoning car tech, Bush and any other customers who lease a Hyundai Tucson Fuel Cell CUV will get free hydrogen refueling, much like Tesla provides free charging for its Model S electric cars.

Hyundai said the Tucson Fuel Cell "represents the next generation of electric vehicles" in that it does not plug in and charge up like a traditional EV. Instead, the hydrogen helps generate electricity, which powers the vehicle. There are zero greenhouse-gas emissions, as the car emits only water vapor, Hyundai said.

Hyundai said that the car has a driving range of about 265 miles, which apparently takes less than 10 minutes to refuel. When driving in the city, the car saves energy with a start/stop mode, which turns off the fuel-cell stack and uses battery power instead. When braking, the battery also charges the motor.

But don't expect to be able to drive this car across the country just yet. Hyundai is initially offering the Tucson Fuel Cell in the Los Angeles/Orange County region, due to the location of public hydrogen refueling stations, specifically those along Interstate 405 near Los Angeles and Orange counties.

But Hyundai was quick to point out that California has approved plans to develop up to 100 hydrogen refueling stations in the state over the next several years. The California Energy Commission also proposed $44.5 million for the development of 28 new hydrogen stations and a mobile refueler.

Early adopters, meanwhile, will pay $499 per month for 36 months and $2,999 down to lease the Tucson Fuel Cell CUV.

Tesla has significantly expanded its own Supercharger network of electric vehicle charging stations. To show off those gains, two teams of Tesla employees driving Model S vehicles successfully completed the company's first Los Angeles to New York road trip in February, charging only at Supercharger stations.

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