Nikola Tesla strode the stage of electric history. We should do more than just remember him in names of two electric vehicle brands. He may have been an autistic savant. Nikola Tesla strode the pages of history in so many ways we have space for only one of his inspirations here.
How Nikola Tesla Strode Through Edison’s Boardroom
Tesla arrived in America from Serbia in 1884 after studying engineering and physics without qualifying. He spent six months helping develop Edison’s New York Utility by improving generators. Then he quit despite Edison saying “this is a damned good man”.
Nikola Tesla strode out the doors of Edison’s workshop and set up his own laboratory, where he believed he would benefit more from his genius. He developed and patented an alternating current motor he licensed to Westinghouse in 1888. This earned him considerable money, and freed him to follow his dreams regardless of commercial benefit.
A Magnificent Obsession With Wireless Power
Tesla played with remote control boats before applying his mind to transmitting data wirelessly. Remember, he lived in a world of cable telecoms where knowledge traveled along a wire as did electricity.
He established an experimental transmitter at Colorado Springs using a large coil mega-volt transmitter. This tripped the local grid setting his hopes back of using Earth’s globe to transmit electricity. By now, Nikola Tesla was running out of money and living at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel as Marconi usurped the world’s attention.
Nikola Tesla experimented at Wardenclyffe before he finally ran out of steam and died alone, all forgotten. We should remember him as a remarkable visionary, rather than just two companies that camped out on his name
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Preview Image: Nikola Tesla 1896
