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Thomas Edison held over a thousand patents in his name. Some of these inventions were his own ideas, while many others were built upon the discoveries of fellow innovators, with Edison often tinkering until he found something profitable. Though he is widely recognized for creating essential household items, far less attention is given to the brilliant scientists and inventors who worked for him and helped make him both wealthy and famous. One of these individuals, Nikola Tesla, faced immense mistreatment and his brilliance was overshadowed by Edison’s fame. Here are ten ways Edison treated Tesla poorly.
10. Disrespectful
In the later years of Edison’s life, he was reported to have expressed regret, saying that he wished he had given Tesla and his work more respect. Unfortunately, by then, the damage had already been done: Tesla passed away in poverty and isolation, while Edison enjoyed wealth and a strong sense of self-worth. Although they had once collaborated, Edison frequently dismissed Tesla’s ideas as 'impractical' or ridiculed them, often feeling threatened by Tesla’s brilliance. From the moment Tesla arrived in America to work with Edison, it seemed Edison was keen to control the young genius, even though Tesla had already made notable contributions to the development of devices that utilized rotating magnetic fields.
9. Driven by Greed
Tesla once criticized Edison in a New York Times interview, stating, 'He had a veritable contempt for book learning and mathematical knowledge, trusting himself entirely to his inventor’s instinct and practical American sense.' In contrast, Tesla was a passionate engineer, deeply intrigued by the technical aspects of his inventions. Possessing a photographic memory, he could memorize entire books and often experienced flashes of brilliance, where solutions to problems or the detailed blueprints of yet-to-be-invented devices would come to him. Edison, on the other hand, was primarily driven by the desire to create (or replicate and patent) practical devices with monetary value, never purely for the sake of science.
8. Mocked Tesla’s Line of Thinking
Not only did Edison dismiss many of Tesla’s brilliant ideas as impractical or have potential inventions shut down, but he also seemed to undervalue Tesla’s intellect. Tesla, a deeply eccentric individual, often worked late into the night and remained celibate until his death at 86, becoming obsessed with his work. Edison, on the other hand, was more socially adept (well, he did have a 16-year-old wife, if that’s any indication) and didn’t always take Tesla’s highly philosophical comments seriously.
7. Took Credit for the Fluoroscope
The fluoroscope – a device designed to produce X-ray images – was something Tesla had been developing before Edison started his own experiments. In the course of his attempts, Edison’s actions led to his assistant suffering from terminal cancer (requiring the amputation of his arms before his eventual death), and Edison himself nearly blinded himself. However, Edison managed to secure the patent for the invention.
6. Wouldn’t Pay Up
Edison backed out of his promise to pay Tesla $50,000 for improving his DC motor – a task Tesla completed with ease. He transformed a poor-performing device into a highly efficient one that saved Edison far more money than he had agreed to pay Tesla. When Tesla pointed out the success of his work, Edison dismissed him, claiming Tesla didn’t ‘understand the American sense of humor’ (Tesla was a Serbian immigrant). More likely, Edison just didn’t want to pay up. Instead of the promised sum, Edison offered Tesla a raise from $18 a week to a whopping $25. After realizing he was being taken advantage of, Tesla resigned, and soon found himself digging ditches before starting his own company and pursuing his own experiments with investments.
5. Meddling Fool
Edison has a Medal named after him, which Tesla was ironically awarded. The Edison Medal is given annually by the IEEE (Institute of Electrical Engineers), a group of Edison’s associates. It’s an affront that an award named for Edison, a man who was only tangentially involved in the field, is given to someone who, like Tesla, was a true luminary in the field of electrical engineering. The insult became even more egregious when Tesla received the medal in 1916.
4. Early Radar Technology Laughed Off
Had Edison not dismissed one of Tesla’s key innovations involving radio waves as 'impractical' during World War I – when Tesla first proposed the concept – countless lives could have been saved with the ability to detect enemy submarines. Of course, this technology would not come to fruition until decades later. Just thinking about the damage caused by Edison’s ego-driven interference is maddening.
3. Shared Virtually None of His Wealth
Edison was a man of great wealth, always looking for new ways to amass even more. This meant rushing crude inventions and unoriginal ideas to the patent office to secure the royalties. While Tesla worked mostly alone as a technology synthesizer, Edison had entire buildings full of talented engineers and scientists working for him, while he pocketed most of the profits. Tesla, unfortunately, was another victim caught in Edison’s ‘greenhouse of genius,’ where all he had to do was ask for a little water and sunlight to produce endless results.
2. Killed a Man to Prove Tesla Wrong
Edison was notorious for using intimidation tactics, including hiring goons to destroy rival technologies to ensure he received his due for patents. However, nothing was more extreme than his campaign against Tesla. Edison went so far as to invent the electric chair, using Tesla’s alternating current (AC) power to execute a man on death row. The execution was gruesome, drawn out, and messy. George Westinghouse, another rival, remarked, 'They would have done better using an axe.' The first execution by electric chair was staged simply to prove Tesla wrong and protect Edison’s financial interests.
1. Fought against Tesla’s AC Power
In simple terms, Edison, backed by a few other wealthy industrialists, was determined to prevent Tesla’s alternating current (AC) from succeeding, as it threatened the financial stability of his own direct current (DC) system, which Tesla had previously improved for him. A fierce public rivalry ensued, with George Westinghouse of the Westinghouse Company supporting Tesla. Edison resorted to unscrupulous scare tactics, attempting to convince the public that AC was dangerous. To ‘prove’ this, he had several animals electrocuted, including a circus elephant that had been sentenced to death for killing several people. Ultimately, Tesla triumphed in the 'War of Currents,' as his power system was superior. Despite his victory, Tesla chose not to pursue great wealth, instead making a modest sum by selling his patents outright to save the Westinghouse Company from financial ruin. To view the full infographic above, go here.
