Encountering Competition with Other Inventors
One of Nikola Tesla’s most public problems was ENCOUNTERING competition with fellow electrical pioneer Thomas Edison. One time when Tesla was working for Edison, Edison tricked Tesla by saying that he would give him $50,000 if Tesla made his motors better. Then Tesla made them better, but Edison just said, “Oh, you don’t get our American humor.”
After leaving Edison, Tesla joined up with Westinghouse. Edison was competing with Tesla and Westinghouse in the "Battle of the Currents." Edison tried to discredit the AC system. Finally Westinghouse and Tesla showed the benefits of AC at the 1893 Chicago World's Fair where he lit up the whole fair with his alternating current system. Tesla was good at dreaming up ideas, but not as good as Edison at the business side.
After leaving Edison, Tesla joined up with Westinghouse. Edison was competing with Tesla and Westinghouse in the "Battle of the Currents." Edison tried to discredit the AC system. Finally Westinghouse and Tesla showed the benefits of AC at the 1893 Chicago World's Fair where he lit up the whole fair with his alternating current system. Tesla was good at dreaming up ideas, but not as good as Edison at the business side.
One important lesson learned from Tesla's life and legacy is the value of public relations. Edison "the Wizard of Menlo Park" understood the value of PR and he stayed in the media's eye right up until he died in 1931. Tesla virtually disappeared from the spotlight with the evaporation of funding for his wireless power transmission scheme. — Student personal interview of Alexander B. Magoun, Ph.D., Outreach Historian IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers) History Center
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"Edison was not only a brilliant inventor, but also a keen businessman who instinctively knew how to profit from his inventions. Tesla, on the other hand, had little ability (or even interest) in turning his inventions into smoothly-running business enterprises. Tesla had no talent for business, so he left behind no lasting companies. Only dreams." — Student personal interview of Tom McNichol, author of
AC/DC: The Savage Tale of the First Standards War. |