Thomas Edison versus Nikola Tesla: Who is more productive?

DIT says on October 26th, 2007 at 1:15 pm

Edison was the better marketer, period. You can have the greatest idea in the world but if you don’t sell it right, then no one’s going to buy it.

ElecBoy says on October 26th, 2007 at 1:29 pm

Very interesting article and a good one, I like Thomas Edison he is one of the person that inspires me.

Zeljko Dakic says on October 26th, 2007 at 2:08 pm

I think that it is typical that Edison is highly regarded in US, at expense of genius of Tesla. In rest of the world it is not like that and I don’t think you will find many references of Edison.
In terms of innovation, it is common to regard Tesla’s as the ones whose time should came. On the other hand Tesla does attract a lot of crackpots as well, which makes objective evaluation of his work harder.
Tesla was really out of this world when it comes to creativity and visualization, as well as ideas he came up with. He really didn’t care much about money which is why he didn’t have it.
Edison was more a down to earth guy who tried to profit on every little thing, which he did. I don’t think that this is wrong at all, just they are not comparable.

Etavitom says on October 26th, 2007 at 2:25 pm

The important thing to remember is that both individuals are brilliant and had a profound impact on society. I am not concerned with who is greater, but would rather use their accomplishments as motivation for my own life.

Thanks for the wisdom!

EddieA says on October 26th, 2007 at 3:16 pm

This article seems to blur the boundaries between quality and quantity. From what I have read and studied over the years… Edison was far more concerned with inventions (in many scientific realms), while Tesla was far more concerned with science (specifically of electricity).

For example, ask any electrical engineer who was most influential in their field and my guess is that nearly every single one would say Tesla.

morydd says on October 26th, 2007 at 3:16 pm

Comparing Tesla and Edison is very similar to comparing Nixon and Kennedy. It really boils down to PR and a couple of poor decisions. Tesla sold many of his patents to Westinghouse, who helped him carry on his research until Westinghous was bought out by the Edison corporation (which TA Edision was no longer involved with in any controling way) who then shut Tesla out. Perhaps Tesla would have been more productive if he had had secure income and powerful supporters later in life.

Gene Mate says on October 26th, 2007 at 3:37 pm

You also have to look around and see what’s still in use in effectively the same form as invented. Tesla has a number of inventions still in use, such as the AC power grid, nearly unchanged in over 100 years. Other inventions, such as the bladeless turbine, are just now being built as the metallurgy was not available back then. Furthermore, Tesla typically built entire systems — such as broadcast radio — while others created subportions of a complex area Tesla was examining.

Tesla was also notorious for not patenting his ideas. One look through some of his notebooks shows numerous ideas that could have been patented, though many would have been years if not decades ahead of their time.

One need only look at his work into X-rays to realize he was probably further ahead than Roentgen. I believe Roentgen actually wanted to share discovery with Tesla, but Tesla demurred. Tesla felt doing science for mankind was enough reward. But in a capitalist society such altruism is rarely true or rewarded.

Today, many of the projects he worked on are being examined by fields as varied as turbine manufacturers to nuclear fusion containment scientists. His breadth was amazing.

What might have been had Tesla not torn up that AC patent agreement with Westinghouse? Imagine if he’d struck a deal for a large share of Westinghouse, instead. We’ll never know what might have been.

Cathy says on October 26th, 2007 at 3:57 pm

I have always been fascinated by Tesla since reading a book about him years ago. A long time has passed, I can’t even remember the title. What intrigued me most was his study of weather. But I can’t agree more to what Etavitom said.

christhenelly says on October 26th, 2007 at 6:10 pm

Considering they are both dead, I dont think they are being very productive at all.

Ethan says on October 26th, 2007 at 6:15 pm

Hmmm…I really don’t think productivity is what matters. Yeah, if you’re seeing who had their name on the most stuff, it’s Edison…by far.

If we’re talking about who made a greater contribution to society, I would argue Tesla. AC, Radio, inventing Robotics, discovering X-rays (although some people contest that) etc. etc.

I’d also like to see sources on this 100% mark of success. I will give Edison something though, he was a very clever man when it came to business. Probably the best of his generation.

Personally, I don’t care much for Edison. If anyone has studied his smear campaign against AC (specifically with the electric chair) you’ll find out he was pretty screwed up.

Tats says on October 26th, 2007 at 6:52 pm

@Ethan: We created a spreadsheet outlining the commercial relevance and success rates of all of Edison (http://tinyurl.com/2b4lhq) and Testla’s (http://tinyurl.com/yvwev4) US patents. We did an analysis and Edison’s numbers were almost perfect while Tesla’s were great until he went out on his own.

Scott says on October 26th, 2007 at 9:05 pm

Edison only had that many patents due to the “army” working for him. He signed his name as a co-inventor on every patent that was created by his company. Compare this to George Westinghouse who signed as a co-inventor only on projects that he himself worked on.

Douglas Fowler says on October 27th, 2007 at 4:04 am

Well, here’s another point that was not covered. When Tesla went out on his own after Westinghouse, he did run his own lab, complete with assistant. I cannot for the life of me remember the individuals name, but he received the credit for quite a few of Tesla’s inventions. Another point that hurt Tesla, was that he was not native born. I know that in an ideal society that would not matter an iota, but it would have pulled weight out from behind Tesla, if he even cared to follow through with suing over stolen patents.

Leaf says on October 27th, 2007 at 9:29 am

I’d agree with DIT – edison was a better marketter. Funny thing is the article failed to mention how Edison rubbed off Tesla’s payment as “american humor”. I ain’t an american but that’s certainly not humorous by any degree..

As for him taking notes, from what I can remember – he didn’t need to take notes. He had ~Photographic Memory~

Comparison by patents is certainly absurd. Tesla’s machines and patents are used even today. A significant portion of Edison’s patents on the other hand are related to phonograph, telegraph and incandescent lighting – all of which are being replaced by better technologies.

As for the labour productivity, it’s true that Tesla worked solo but doesn’t show an important point that Tesla was able to outperform a batallion of Edison’s workers..

There is no doubt that Edison was the more popular of the two however.

I don’t understand one important thing though, what does productivity have to do with commercial success? If we’re talking about inspiring personalities, it’s Edison. If intriguing personalities, it’s Tesla.

Scott Husch says on October 27th, 2007 at 10:33 pm

I’ve been a tesla fan ever since reading Man out of Time. Edison may have invented more but if you look at many fo Tesla’s ideas they were light years a head of current thought. In weaponry he thought of radio guided weaponry long before it became reality.
Judging by vision and not just by sheer volume of patents many of which have no practical use now I will come down on Tesla’s side everytime.
And for those judging by wealth keep in mind Tesla frequently let his backers out of their contracts. Westinghouse could never have afforded to pay Tesla all that was due him. The fortune Tesla could have amassed would make gates look like a piker.

Chanio says on October 27th, 2007 at 10:50 pm

When Lincoln became a president, it is said that he named some of his enemies as members of his government.

Wouldn’t it have been more productive to have Edison working with Tesla forever?

Edison was like a child playing with toys, but he presented his inventions completely developed to be commercialized. That is the reason why he got so pissed off when Westinghouse impossed the AC current as the standard electricity. He had invested a lot of time studying the commercialization of Direct Current that he said it was safer for the people. He had created the electricity meter, cable standards, etc.

Besides, Tesla was brought to America by Edison. He was a real scientist but didn’t have the contacts that Edison had. They shoudn’t have split.

If they were really the heroes that we now imagine they were, they should have forced themselves to keep on working together for the sake of the world. (No electric chair, perhaps, air transmited electricity, etc.)

David Myers says on October 28th, 2007 at 6:16 am

The article makes a foolish and distracting claim of ‘productivity’ measured in ‘patents’ being the measure of a man’s worth. Following this reasoning, Isaac Newton, Thomas Jefferson and Ghandi had zero value as none earned any patents.

If we are talking raw productivity of goods, we can easily show that Stalin and Mao Tse Tung were far more productive than Einstein. But what does that prove?

Ivanhoe says on October 28th, 2007 at 8:42 am

Tesla’s inventions and his career were excluded from our history books because his inventions and patents were stolen and then weaponized. It was never intended for us to learn about the suppression of Tesla’s advanced scientific discoveries, nor about those who profited from their theft.

Dave McClave says on October 28th, 2007 at 5:01 pm

You could make a case for a person’s worth in relation to their patents, sales, acheivements, or any other measurement you wish, but only if you use a measure that is common to all participants in the comparison. In terms of patents, DaVinci had nothing on Edison, but in terms of scientific discovery and artistic brilliance, most would argue that DaVinci was the better man. The same may be said of Tesla versus Edison – in terms of business saavy, Edison was light years ahead of Tesla. But, as Tesla is a personal interest of mine, I’d say he had the upper hand when it came to discovery and invention.

I also must agree with Ivanhoe regarding suppression, weaponization and public knowledge, although to say so publicly makes me look a bit paranoid. Tesla’s most profound discoveries were purchased or stolen and then hidden or simply “shelved” by the new patent holder. This is common even today in corporate technology and the military industrial complex.

wayde says on October 29th, 2007 at 1:48 am

also not mentioned is the fact that edison offered tesla US $50 000 to redesign his out of date DC engines of the time. Tesla came up with the AC motor and edison practicaly told him that the deal was a joke pretty much. Edison could not afford to pay that amount considering it was worth more that the company he was running at the time.

Kyle says on October 29th, 2007 at 9:04 am

As a side note, Edison invented the kinetoscope and a primitive predecessor to the motion picture camera, but it was actually the Lumiere brothers in France who in 1892 invented the camera as we know it today. The Lumiere’s camera worked as both the camera AND the projector, whereas Edison’s films could only be watched on a kinetoscope (a peephole viewer in penny arcades).

Seth Metoyer says on October 29th, 2007 at 12:25 pm

Nikola Tesla. No question.

BlueLightTickets.com says on October 29th, 2007 at 12:27 pm

Interesting question/debate. I think that they were both amazing. I always wonder about the deathray. Maybe we wouldn’t be around to discuss this if it was every actually developed.

John Hamby says on October 30th, 2007 at 2:51 pm

The definitive test to measure “success”, or which of the two have had the most significant longterm impact can be easily tested by anyone with a two-part experiement: Live one day without Edison inventions and progeny. Part two, attempt living a day without Tesla and his inventions and progeny. Keep in mind, unless you’re reading this in daylight and on battery charged by the sun, Mr. Tesla’s already way ahead!

Alex says on October 30th, 2007 at 3:54 pm

So what about counting how many (metric) units are named after both?

Tesla – 1
Edison – 0

As already pointed out, one was true genius of a scientist, and other one was more of a marketing guy. Both were smart in their own ways.

Comparing the two is like mixing grandmothers with frogs (oranges and apples).

Sangrail says on October 31st, 2007 at 4:11 pm

Where do we vote?
Is there a poll?

If not: I say Tesla. Greater personal contribution to humanity.

It’s posts like this that make me re-evaluate what I’m wanting to ‘achieve’ with productivity, and whether the particular thing I’m doing is really worth it.

Edison brute-forced everything. Do I really want to be the sort of person that is proud of how overworked I am, and take it as such a point of pride I lie (even further) about how little sleep I get? Or do I want to come up with new ideas and frameworks that will continue being used long past my immediate presence?

I think I’ve had the same realisation with happiness. People who eat their same favourite food regularly, without much change, rated themselves as happier ‘in the moment’ – but I’m starting to suspect this is like people asked to rate how much time is passing when doing something very boring: at that moment in time, the answer is usually ‘a lot’.
But if asked to evaluate some previous stretch of time, the boring undistinguished stretches are compressed in our memory, retrospectively appearing to have taken very little time, but our interesting times, they’re memorable.

I don’t want to have a blandly comfortable time and then look back on it, regretting opportunities not taken or feel like I wasted time.

An interesting life is more important to me than a happy one. It may be more stressful at the time, but if my current life is anything to go by – it will be more satisfying.

Carlton says on November 5th, 2007 at 1:31 pm

As an electrical engineer, focusing on power electronics, I can say that Tesla is much more respected in the electrical engineering field, at least. Certainly, I agree that Edison seemed more productive, and definitely more successful, but Tesla was the real scientific genius.

Telsa’s huge exploration and understanding of electromagnetics is the reason that electricity is in every home. His research in radios, power generation and conversion, turbines and more were pivotal in powering the 20th century and some of his ideas and designs were so ahead of their time that we still haven’t fully implemented them (such as full-scale wireless power generation).

boki jaki says on November 12th, 2007 at 3:23 am

Tesla contribution more to humanity then Edison. But Tesla has not been given credit for his work. It is an absolute decrease that one of the greatest scientist in history is not an mainstream name like Albert Einstein, and Leonardo Da vinci.

T R Karson says on January 22nd, 2008 at 7:30 pm

Doctor Tesla overwhelmingly surpasses Edison. NO COMPARISON!

john says on February 27th, 2008 at 9:14 pm

I like Nikola Tesla more, just because his name sound cool, and hes russian wich intriges me.

I think these kind of discussions are pointless because we werent there obvious(?).

Well they arent pointless but we will mirror there supposed character to ourselfs and ofcourse the capatalistic(?)
Edison loses the battle here
People have a tendacy to choose for the underdog, except when theres that weird homeless guy walking with a wounded pigeon after he fried an elephent.

Srry for spelling

JOJO says on April 12th, 2008 at 10:29 am

Do only Tesla fans come to this website?

Lica says on April 13th, 2008 at 6:24 pm

I agree with Carlton. Tesla is the furgotten genius. Togheter with Leonardo da Vinci, Einstein, Newton, was one of the brilliant brain of history.

Papo Rodz says on May 14th, 2008 at 9:13 pm

DON’T THINK THAT BECOUSE A LOT OF PEOPLE AGREE IN THIS SITE THAT TESLA IS THE BRIGHTER AND MOST BRILLIANT INVENTOR OF THE 2 IT’S BECOUSE WE ARE ALL TESLA’S FANS,. IT’S SIMPLE AND CLEAR THAT IF SUCESS ITS MEASURED BY MARKETTING AND ADVERTISEMENT AND NOT BY KNOWLADGE AND RESEARCH THEN UNQUESTIONABLY EDISON IS THE BETTER MAN .IF YOU READ THE MAIN STORY POSTED HERE THEN YOU’LL REALIZED THAT SUCESS WAS MEASURED BY MARKETTING AND ADVERTISMENT OF IDEAS OR INVENTIONS NOT BY CHEER BRAIN POWER AND GENIOUS. IN THE BRAIN DEPARTMENT THEN TESLA WAS LIGHT YEARS AHEAD OF THE MUUUUUUCH INFERIOR EDISON.’NUFF SAID

Papo Rodz says on May 14th, 2008 at 9:44 pm

JUST FORGOT TO ADD.IF THE WORLD WILL COME TO A FINANCIAL DEPRESSION AND CRISIS I WOULD PICK EDISON TO INVENT HIS WAY OUT OF IT AND TAKE US TO A NEW BONANZA AGE FINANCIALLY.

ON THE OTHER HAND IF HUMANITY WOULD HAVED BEEN THREATEN TO AN ALMOST COMPLETE EXTERMINATION BY A NUCLEAR OR NATURAL CAUSES CATACLISISM THEN I’LL PICK TESLA TO BRING US OUT OF THE HOLE OR ASHES AND RE-INVENT CIVILIZATION IN THE TECHNOLOGY FIELD, HE WILL THEN TAKE US WHERE NO MAN HAVE EVER BEEN BEFORE ,FAR,FAR TO THE INFINITE UNIVERSE AND ITS MYSTERIES(SCIENTIFICKLY SPEAKING ).

I SAID THIS WITH ALL THE RESPECT TO ALL OF THOSE EDISON FANS OUT THERE AND WITHOUT TAKING ANYTHING AWAY FROM MISTER EDISON’S TRUE GENIOUS (WHOM I ADMIRE AS WELL). ITS JUST LIKE COMPARING A GREAT VIOLINIST WHO IS A CONCERTIST\TEACHER TO A VIOLIN VIRTUOSO LIKE NICOLO PAGANINI, JUST A NO-CONTEST SITUATION BECOUSE PAGANINI WAS BORN TALENTED AND GIFTED FROM BIRTH TO BE A TOP CONCERTIST VIRTUOSO AND THE OTHER VIOLONIST WAS MADE BY CHEER PRACTICE AND AFFORT.

Steve says on May 21st, 2008 at 12:54 pm

The two genius had different role in history. Edison had worked for his present time, Tesla for the future. We can see it in theirs invention and maybe we will see, that many of Tesla dreams will coming to life soon…

John says on May 29th, 2008 at 1:44 am

Nikola Tesla is GOD people..he invented the future and he is not getting the credit that he should be. Come on seriously Edison has been stealing all of the inventions for Tesla. Tesla invented every electric and power movable object. We would be in dark ages if it wasnt for tesla. He is the greatest mind on the planet that has ever lived. The man spoke 8 languages. Edison only 1. There is no competition Tesla owns Edison in every way possible. Test is GOD like i said, and those people that said that he is RUSSIAN should so some more research…He is Croatian/Serbian.

DMadCat says on July 18th, 2008 at 1:30 pm

I probably woudn’t go as far as that last reply but it seems to me Edison was the Bill Gates of his time. He invented a few important things but most of what he accomplished relied on other peoples’ ingenuity and his own marketing skills.

Tesla on the other hand appears to have been the true technofile more interested in working on/with the actual technology than maintaining a business.

My respect goes to Tesla. Business men do not impress me.

Kerst Levey says on July 20th, 2008 at 6:04 am

Tesla will always be one of my heros. I have known people like edison, he had the “means” to make things happen but none of the inovation. He has to steal ideas, and then make them happen. Tesla, and men like him, brilliant and creative and imaginative, but poor. It is the same way today. People who can affort college get the jobs and poor people with all of the wisdom and intelligence in the world get nothing because they just are not given the oportunity to show who they are. It’s a shame, that this world is so corupted by money. Tesla may have used someones money to fuel his dreams, but at least he didn’t steal other peoples ideas.

Kris Hjalmarsson says on August 9th, 2008 at 6:40 pm

As history likes to see it…

Edison invented the Light Bulb
Henry Ford Invented the Automobile

And a hundred years from now….

William . H. Gates Invented the so called “Personal Computer”.

History has it so wrong !

McBadA says on September 23rd, 2008 at 3:27 pm

Edison hired Tesla to do some of his work then screwed him over on it. TODAY we are using shit tons more telsa or tesla based inventions. if you really look into it schools tell you edison is better simply because he’s american. tesla dominates

Jun Abines says on September 25th, 2008 at 4:13 am

Tesla is the genius in terms of logic, mathematical calculation, keen observation and imagination to the highest level. He does things for the love of science and discovery to be applied into practical uses.

Edison is creative, resourceful and a true businessman. He does things to the sake of invention, accomplishments, legacy and of course profit.

I think Tesla was the better guy. He is the true scientist between the two.

zuki says on October 15th, 2008 at 2:11 am

Tesla DEFINITELY.

Nenad says on October 23rd, 2008 at 9:25 pm

I`m very happy to see that all of you can see how Tesla was important. I hate when I hear somebody mentioning the greatest sientist of the century but not Tesla. Btw
Tesla was a Serb that lived in teritory now called Croatia, but then it was Austria`s empire. Hes father was a priest in Serbian church.

Justice says on October 27th, 2008 at 4:37 pm

It is absurd to even compare those 2 guys. Anyone who claims that Edison contributed to the world more than Tesla did, is a totally illiterated stupid f**k.

Justice says on October 27th, 2008 at 4:44 pm

Edison is nothing more than a Ferengi from the Star Trek. Just look at the picture! Am I wrong???

Emil says on November 1st, 2008 at 10:09 pm

Tesla and there is NO QUESTION about it.

Edison was great, don’t get me wrong, but he’s the one responsible for getting Tesla “on fire”, stealing Tesla’s projects and taking full ownership without asking Tesla and patenting them as well.

Somebody says Edison was Businessman, that is total BS, that is not called Business at all. Tesla didn’t care about the money, PERIOD.

Thanks,
Emil

tim says on November 24th, 2008 at 9:50 am

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Steve says on November 25th, 2008 at 12:31 pm

Edison was a Bill Gates, he took other peoples ideas and marketed/patendted them as his own. He improved up on them, but he as less of an innovator and more of a businessman. He Made his money on what would make HIM money and give him more power. He sought alliances with people who made is ability to gobble up the little guy and incorperate it to his own profit.

Was this good? Well, morally, i think the guy was a bit of a jerk(killng the elephent as propaganda against A/C) but the end result is he took these ideas and mass marketed them to the public.. so in the sense of bringing innovation to the people, he did wonders, whether he actually invented them or not.

Tesla was more of a loose canon, less controled but more pure genius. He was less focused and easily distracded and also not ethical in using others money for projects other than their indended purpose.(stealing)
Telsa probably needed more guidence.. and if he had funding and time and focus, he probably would have developed many amazing things.. as he didn’t create them for what was marketable, but rather what he found interesting. We would probably have some intersting inventions today that do not exist had he had funding and focus… but I think he really needed someone like a westinghouse or edison to guide him and keep him focused.

So.. to answer the question? I think Tesla was more of the Genius, more of the inventor… where Edison was able to take others innovations and bring them to the world(granted for his own profit)

Both played a role, but one is not necessarily better.

I will say this.. Edison irks me because he gets so much credit as an inventor… when he made his profits on other inventions.

I go back to Bill gates.. he got luck getting MSDOS and was able to market it. Once he got money and power, he took other peoples idea and improved upon them.. and integrated to eventually kill off the real innovators. Microsoft has never been in innovator. So I consider Edison like a Bill Gates.. only Bill gates didn’t kill elephents.

Steve says on November 25th, 2008 at 12:38 pm

Let me simplify that last message:

Edison was about making money.. though I’m sure he loved the inventions he patented… money was his driving force

Tesla was about invention, being rich didn’t interest him.

I don’t judge sucess on how much money you have, or how well off you are when you die.

Edison wined and dined the elite, the powerful. He played politics and games.

Tesla followed his dreams and interests, he lived his life the way he wanted to. He may have died poor and lonely with Pidgeons, but he lived a very very full life, and I’m sure he was thankful for the oportunity to use his genius.

Personally, I’d have rather lived my life like Tesla. I’d rather pursue my dreams poor than to be rich and play all those political games. So I personally have more respect for Tesla. Plus, I can’t stand that Edison gets credit for inventing things he didn’t invent.
While I don’t approve of him misuing westinghouses funds… I have more respect for the way Tesla lived his life as life is not all about planning.

kresimir says on December 5th, 2008 at 3:12 pm

I don’t know where the rumour comes from that Tesla was russian.
Like others already mentioned he was Serbian, born and raised in Croatia (back then under the Austrian Empire).
Tesla said: He is as proud of his serbian mother as he is of his native country Croatia.

And I think Tesla was more briliant than Edison. There is still a lot of his inventions not being used yet. He was ahead of his time.

Real says on December 13th, 2008 at 4:32 pm

I’ll give it to Telsa. Most of his vision ( free energy) and inventions were not liked by the elites. We don’t know to this day what half his inventions are since the gov’t seized his notes. The dude was simply there to better humanity while Edison just saw humans as a means; a tool to get more money and increase his happiness.

gugue says on December 16th, 2008 at 12:04 pm

many documentary shows how mafious edison stole tesla´s ideas… he even eletrecuted animals to ruin tesla´s work in ~AC .

visionary Tesla was intuitive, mystical and wanted for free energy to all!

TESLA RULES!!

diego says on January 6th, 2009 at 3:58 pm

The smarter you are, the more you know Tesla had the genius Edison feigned to those who were too unaware to distinguish between Intelligently Applicable (Edison) and True Genius (Tesla).

Tesla will inspire real thought for all time.
Edison will inspire self-interested capitalism at the cost of real progress.

Kassahun Mammo says on January 15th, 2009 at 5:18 am

My Dear
N.Tesela is wider in his innovation and had contributed ahead of his time innovation than T Edson did. The other amazing issue is why Tesela is coverd by Edson in research and pedagogical text ? I thought that there must be some vegues beyond , but we the benifciry of Tesela mind thanks HIM. But it doent mean Edson is xyz………, he is equally important for current global civilazation
Kassahun Mammo
Ethiopia

Niko says on January 21st, 2009 at 7:57 am

first and foremost… Nikola Tesla was from LIKA.. He was a Croatian. His father was a serb and his mother was a hrvat… but while in croatia and even while in new york he always considered himself a croat and associated himself with croats.. this i know because my grandparents came to this country from croatia as well.. the used to associate with the man.. they attended his funeral and we’re good friends with the man who paid for Tesla’s funeral.
Secondly.. Thomas Edison did nothing for the world that wouldn’t have been accomplished anyway. All he did was reproduce and distribute other peoples ideas and inventions for a fee. He was the biggest crook the world has seen.. Why do you think they call his company CONedison .. cause he was a CON..

And to those of you who call Nikola Tesla a thief.. ur crazy.. either that or u have a controlling interest in GE…
What nikola tesla did was try to give the world free wireless energy.. not just to those who could cough up a coin. Now, he couldn’t come right out and say Im building a tower with your money thats gonna give everyone free electricity.. especially if that money is made by charging for electricity.. . Do you think BIG BUSINESS would have let him introduce such a an accomplishment to the world??? it would be like bill gates making Windows open source.. you think Microsoft would let him do that?!?!?! Nikola Tesla was a modern day robin hood. My grandparents and many others always say that Nikola Tesla disliked women who wore pearls and all the glitz and glam.. he was a simple man and money held no value to him.
Tesla has many inventions that we still use and even more that we still dont know how to use. Many of his inventions could probably fix a lot of the problems we have today. but just like with every other crooked business.. why make a problem go away when you can keep charging them to fix it.. so basically everything that nikola tesla invented is under wraps.. I would bet the house that in that little area know as AREA51 they’re probably working with his technologies or trying to get them to work anyway..
how about the ray he shot off into the air from new york that hit russia and scortched the earth moments later.. I think they are still trying to cover it up..

and then you still have TeslaMotors.. purely electric cars that go from 0-200 in like 3 seconds.. now if he had been allowed to finish the Wardenclyffe Tower maybe today we would be driving purely electric cars that recharged constantly and wirelessly… thus eliminating tons of polution.. etc… if he had been taken more seriously we in all seriousness could probably have been living a Star Trek type of life…
hell.. i even heard that he invented a machine that produces artifical atmospheres.. imagine colonizing the moon or mars with his inventions ???????

hayley says on February 5th, 2009 at 3:46 pm

i have a problem with the paragraph that says edison invented DC actually that was invented by tesla when he was working for Edison. so infact Tesla Create DC, AC, and Wireless current.

hayley says on February 5th, 2009 at 3:53 pm

Also who cares if Tesla didn’t get enough patents. He was proably afraid of getting screwed over again and not getting payed. after he worked of Edison, Tesla got a job digging ditchs. Edison made threats on him about going back in to science so selling his patents was proably the best solution in his mind. And those of you who find Edison inspertational, maybe you should do some reaseach about who really created those genius things you idolize. Chances are that they came from the mind of one of his under payed workers.

dilara says on February 18th, 2009 at 12:03 pm

bence edison tam bir sahtekar. çünkü ampulü asıl nikola tesla buldu ama herkes ampulü thomas edison un bulduğunu sanıyor.

Titan says on February 26th, 2009 at 9:21 am

Tesla is the Greatest Genius! I know of many geniuses that have lived,but none compare to the works of an unknown Nikola Tesla.His inventions are a reality today,and will be for many years.Some of his inventions are A/C Polyphase System,Radio,Remote control,X-Ray,Fluorescent lights,Microwave,Robotics,Logic Gate(computers)Tesla coil(television),Etc,etc,etc.Just see his lifes work to understand his Genius.The very principle of your mobile you use today is based on his wireless discoveries.
Now lets look at what actually exists in the world as in “inventions”?Ask yourself what is the most amazing invention of the world?Not just theories and nonesense,but actual theories that have lead to something amazing?Lets first look at Da Vinci.Sure he was interested in many things,and had many ideas,but nothing of any use today that would amaze me.His drawings of aeroplanes were like the ones you see in old films,where they resemble flapping wings.Practically they just couldn’t fly.Now for Newton,what did he invent?His idea that what goes up must come down?Gravity?Where is the genius in that?Did you know that even his theory on Gravity cannot be proved.Thats all it is an idea,but has no explanation in the way it works.He has proved nothing with his Gravity theory!
Great genius is from those,where ones theory leads to creation!
There is no genius in an idea that doesn’t work,or something that has not been explained and put to use as Newtons gravity theory.
So tell me what did Newtons theory lead to?What did he create?
The theory of gravity is still not understood!
Now ask yourself what is the most amazing invention of the world?I would say that 8 out of 10,whatever you choose as some great invention that is in existence,some part of Tesla would have to be there!
That’s why I have chosen Tesla.
Da Vinci? Hmmm, What did he invent? Fantasies in his brain?
And Edison?
Well his inventions today are obsolete,primative contraptions!

anon coward says on April 11th, 2009 at 12:49 pm

Here is some interesting information about Tesla from http://proliberty.com/observer/20070405.htm.

(Deathbed confessions, photos support claims that George H. Scherf(f), Jr., was the 41st U.S. president)

The part about Tesla is about 1/5 of the way from the top of the page.

Ethos says on April 24th, 2009 at 8:19 pm

Geez I hope whomever wrote this biased article, will do their homework next time.

Marc Murphy says on May 4th, 2009 at 9:55 am

I’m a fan of both great men! Edison was a great ‘producer’ and Tesla was pure genius. I designed shirts to honor both men.
http://www.printfection.com/mu....._p_3824356
http://www.printfection.com/mu....._p_3829374

FreeThinking101 says on May 26th, 2009 at 1:39 am

Time will give Nikola Telsa credit for everything that he helped create with his ideas. One idea of his is starting to come to light…his Wireless Electricity is now being put in the news and I guess someone figured out a way to measure it so they can profit. Look up wireless electricity on wikipedia and his name is all over it

Imagine a world if JP Morgan let Tesla use his money to fund his projects? In the 100 years that we are now after his inventions do you think we would have been traveling in outer space? It sucks not having the creator of the invention alive witnessing and perfecting his creations and ideas. Im jealous not being able to know 100 years from now in which should have been my life time, and see such technologies progess…

Openminded75 says on May 29th, 2009 at 8:01 am

As mentioned by others here there are many inventions of Tesla that are still not understood or known to the general public. Isn’t it weird that Roswell happened the same year that Tesla died…were his notes stolen by our government and tested with a crash as a result? Makes you think. Telsa became an American citizen at age 28. He tried to give his ideas to our government but was turned away many times, until the day of his death and then the government stole his ideas. Some were given back to his nephew but many were not. Tesla was awarded by congress in 1992 as the inventor of radio (Marconi briefly worked with him and used Tesla ideas and patent). The Manhattan Project was based off of Tesla tech. Teleportation is Tesla tech. Even time machine type stuff. How do we know that all of our weather changes and troubles are not because of government messing with weather control (also Tesla tech)? I think Tesla stated it best…’Science is but a perversion of itself unless it has as it’s ultimate goal the betterment of humanity’ – Nikola Tesla 1919. Many of his known and unknown ideas are used for profit and power. Mind control, weather control, power control, radio control, remote control etc. If we could live in a Tesla world we would have few if any worries. Free power, free energy, free travel, purification of the body, if there still were weapons a Tesla shield would protect… so many things that the general public does not know. Makes me sad, but posts from people like us that spread his spirit and ideas on will never let him die. We are still learning and gaining from his ideas! Just hope that they too do not turn for profit and suppression! Telsa in his end days was obsessed with the number 3, which if you are into numerology would know that 3 is very important as it adds up to and goes into many numbers such as 9 which is the highest number! Most people think that Tesla was a bit of a crackpot, and even to this day when one does not understand another’s far out ideas they are labeled crazy. Funny thing is they are most not crazy just more visionary, analytical, open minded, and more in tune with cosmic reality!

Gordon S. says on June 7th, 2009 at 9:49 pm

I’m a product of the Canadian school system. I’m 45 now, but when I went to school, I don’t remember ever hearing ANYTHING about Tesla (or even his name).
The teachers might have mentioned his name, but maybe in a passing, minor way. I don’t think they even mentioned him at all though.
Everything was about Thomas Edison as far as electricity goes.
The first time I ever heard of Nikola Tesla was on Coast to Coast AM (George Noory). When I heard his name, I thought it was some obscure thing, not a legitimate person who did contribute many great inventions.
I don’t know the reason why Tesla is left out of the schoolbooks, but he was not a native American, he was born in the modern area of Croatia.
Could it be that the American (and Canadian) textbooks only mention Edison because he is an American (born in the US), whereas Tesla was not? Just a thought.

Dave MacPhee says on June 26th, 2009 at 7:41 pm

It is strange how I can feel such a strong dislike for someone that lived so long ago.
My work over the last 35 years makes me identify with the work ethic of Tesla.
Tesla did not like getting ripped off but knew himself to always have something better coming so he let it go. Unfortunately, that does not solve anything. The problem will just keep happening and he keeps getting robbed of any credit or gain.

So it’s back to the drawing board again with something different, a new project. A Vicious circle. No time to fight. Too busy concentrating on creating and maintaining focus on that creation. Can’t afford distractions. Work until he drops.

Then you have these people looking in and making all these promises.

That’s why I hate Edison. I have worked for plenty like him. They are rich now and I can’t go any more. I have nasty names for people like him that don’t belong in a nice place like this.

DarkKnight says on July 10th, 2009 at 2:54 pm

Happy Birthday Tesla.
In the eyes on the unbiased Tesla was light years more intelligent than Edison. Anyone who does a small bit of unbiased research would know this. Edison is credited with hundreds of mostly useless and stolen inventions. Edison was a sell-out and his goal in life was to outshine Tesla. Which isn’t hard to do when you are an American and the other guy is a Serb. Without the AC electric motor everyone would be in the dark. So humanity owes Telsa a huge THANK-YOU. He also invented the Tesla Coil, the fluorescent light, the blade less turbine and also created concepts of: radar, robots, computers, vertical take-off aircraft, wireless power transmission and remote control guidance system. He created things that no other human being could even fathom. Tesla is still and I think will always be ahead of him time. Tesla said “Let the future tell the truth, and evaluate each one according to his work and accomplishments. The present is theirs; the future, for which I have really worked, is mine.”

John says on July 11th, 2009 at 2:02 am

Nikola Tesla seems like a very intriguing personality, but it is very unfortunate that he attracts so many dull and silly people as the vast majority that have posted on this place.

It’s funny how his biggest supporters are people who can’t even spell or are so incoherent that they dwell on just plain silliness.

Most of you are just projecting your own frustrations and insecurities when it comes to the debate between Tesla vs Edison. Stop doing this as it is not just a very childish thing to do but also extremely disrespectful.

Whatever the truth may be, let it come out on its own.

YONIE says on July 13th, 2009 at 12:25 am

who am i to judge who was better than who. all i feel worthy of is giving an opinion with whatever knowledge i do have on the subject. somwthing i do know is that history is open to interpretation. everyone is entitled to their say. everything depends on the lens we look through. when i was a child i believed columbus discovered america, now looking at it from a different perspective, after seeking my own truth, i’ve come to know something totally different. what we learn in school has a tremedous impact on our perceptions and sometimes we never look beyond that box we were taught to see through. t. edison is someone whom i know of due to this education system, a system that tends to give a walt disney version of the truth. never did i ever hear of n. telsa in school. nor did i hear about numerous great men and women out there now or in the past that have accomplished great things. that is something i think we should all keep in mind. we don’t all make it down that narrow path of success, yet in some other dimension of reality, what we do in action with our hearts counts on a level that our 5 senses can’t see. im sure t.edison and n. telsa were both great men, each with their own genious and contributions just like others we can compare like m. l. king and malcom x. can’t have one without the other. personally i’d choose malcom if i had to choose, but without king’s sufferings as well, things would be different today wouldn’t they.

LA:Cali says on July 15th, 2009 at 1:57 pm

No doubt that Tesla was brilliant, but Edison was definitely more influential and more of a hustler too. Edison won under the survival for the fittest. If Tesla agreed to work for Edison then Edison was definitely a smarter person. but both of their inventions are appreciated by the society but Edison gets more credit because he was much more productive than Tesla whether he hired 5 million people to help him or not

Steve says on July 15th, 2009 at 2:34 pm

I hate to admit it but Edison was more productive. Though the use of AC ubiquitous I find that Edison created a greater number of inventions I find useful. I do think Tesla was more brilliant and that Edison was a ruthless and cruel opportunist.

Dragan says on July 16th, 2009 at 1:30 pm

Nikola Tesla is born in Croatia but he is pure Serbian. On June 1st 1892, Tesla have a speech in Belgrade, Serbia:
“There is something within me that might be illusion as it is often case with young delighted people, but if I would be fortunate to achieve some of my ideals, it would be on the behalf of the whole of humanity. If those hopes would become fulfilled, the most exiting thought would be that it is a deed of a Serb. Long live Serbdom!…” Tesla further said to the students of Belgrade University: “As you can see and hear, I have remained a Serb overseas where I have done some researches. You should do so and by your knowledge and hard work you should glorify Serbdom over the world.”

Dragan says on July 16th, 2009 at 1:31 pm

had a speech

David MacPhee says on July 30th, 2009 at 8:16 pm

Hey John on July the 11th!

I enjoyed all the postings here. Did you really read them? It is kind of neat that this topic has attracted so many intelligent thinking people for so long.

Well, welcome but you wrote in such strange way. Are you a boss or something? Don’t care much about insubordination?

I wonder. If someone was to pick up any random books about each, Edison and Tesla, Which books would have more real facts?

David MacPhee says on July 30th, 2009 at 9:09 pm

I was thinking that if Tesla was alive today and got a look at our nuclear reactors, he would be astounded!

He would laugh his head off and say he could do better than that and prove it!

He would say “Hey! That’s nothing more than an over-rated steam engine!”

If Tesla had found the cure for aging, by now he would have given the world nano-powered batteries more powerful than a locomotive.

richard barnette says on August 11th, 2009 at 11:53 pm

they were both great men tesla could build anything and tried . edison could steal anything and did

David MacPhee says on August 19th, 2009 at 10:20 pm

* Sigh *

I wish that I could be reborn and learn from this life before starting over.

I am blessed with such a flexible mind but abuse in the workplace destroys all that.

David MacPhee says on August 19th, 2009 at 10:26 pm

Can you imagine what Tesla could do if he had our access to the information Highway?

What would Edison do with it…. ?

What.. Get Rich without picking on Tesla?

David MacPhee says on August 19th, 2009 at 10:32 pm

There must be two ends of something in our world. The start and the end. Tesla was the start and Edison was the natural end.

Ka Chink Ka Chink!!

If You are fami liar with anatomy, You look at the Torso first, and you do it top to bottom. Then you turn it around and see what comes out.

You can trace that matter and find a boss creature.

Thomas Bendoraitis says on September 15th, 2009 at 8:00 pm

You can’t compare Tesla with Edison. Tesla was like a believer, he pursued discovery and proof of his theories whilst Edison pursued the schekel, and essentially the age old “fame and fortune” at any price. Edison might have won a management prize like the studio owner who discovered Elvis, J.Cash, Jerry Lee Lewis etc. Yes he did that, but he couldn’t sing or write songs sooooo………

surprised says on September 21st, 2009 at 5:16 am

Is this some kind of joke? A lot of business in the world is done by snub and wicked, Edison is one of such greatest. This article sounds like “Making the money is most important. Edison made it by being snub, and Tesla didn’t. That’s why Tesla destroyed himself. The authors are surely a jirk!!! :)

surprised says on September 21st, 2009 at 5:24 am

Anyone who thinks Tesla suck should just turn off the electricity power button right now and drop dead in the darkness!!! You gullible people!!

sunkiter says on October 1st, 2009 at 4:53 pm

very interesting forum with valuable feedback and reactions. it is nearly impossible to be unbiased here, and it is difficult to compare quality and quantity. comparing their psyches and personal character, creativity, visionary capacity, scientific versus sales capabilities. We’re all unique in this world. It’s a matter of taste, even. I definitely have more affinity with Tesla and not much with Edison, independent of the number of google hits. Tesla for me is the absolute genius, if a fraction of his remaining ideas would have really been applied, we would live in a different world today, imagine that!

Utilitheo says on October 2nd, 2009 at 12:51 am

Why even bother to compare? there is simply no comparison to Tesla. but now that exactly these 2 names have to be compared: selflessness can only be seen next to greed, light only is manifested upon darkness. Edison vanishes in comparison to Tesla. but this world needs crooked people in order to be saved, apparently. I feel sorry for anyone trying to defend Edison in an attempt to do justice to corrupt history books and violated physics class content. May everyone one day see the light, and the rest of Tesla’s inventions come into reality. Thank you Tesla. We all need to know our place. Even Tesla wasn’t “the light of the world” because we all have our limitations. and I am sure Edison must have had some nice character traits, but his dark side is what people remember. It’s like agressors in a war, you want to remember what they did, because this is the only way not to forget evildoers and their damage to human society

tommy says on October 2nd, 2009 at 9:45 pm

tesla inventions show how brilliant scientist he was, and edision just used him. he still owns him over 50 million dollars. that money should be given to village of Smiljane where Tesla was born.

Robert says on October 12th, 2009 at 11:59 pm

As Tesla said. “The present is theirs. The future is mine.” The military stole his secrets as others, because he was not a savvy capitalist. He may have been a little wreckless with his ideas. It does disturb me that those that “make the better light bulb”, don’t necessarily get the credit, and many times the better “automobile engine” is shut down, just for purposes of some money hoarding person or group, wanting to keep exclusive rights to making a hundred million more gas guzzlers, so they can keep the market cornered. The corruption of greed is the thing that Tesla was not competent at. He was a loner. I think the future will show that Tesla was more the victim of a capitalist environment, than lacking ideas.

jesus christ says on October 13th, 2009 at 8:08 pm

i think edison won. because he created machines that help make work easier. like machines that help make the form of cheese puffs. from oumpa lumpas. you who i think beat both of was jesus christ with his pimped out porshce with spinners, hydrolics, and a mexican and african(chris tucker)

shut up says on October 17th, 2009 at 8:15 pm

HMM whose better uhh NIKOLA everyone in the world CEPT united states uses nikola teslas way of the invention of electricity

ahahahhahahahaha says on October 17th, 2009 at 8:21 pm

yea i agree with edison tesla was better (yes edison said he had betraide and copied nikola tesla)

Milan says on October 21st, 2009 at 9:34 pm

Nikola Tesla. Anyone who says other, doesn’t understand engineering and is watching too much PBS and reading The American Statist Journal way too much.

Chet says on October 23rd, 2009 at 7:20 am

Correct me if I am wrong, but didnt Edison invent the porn industry?

Nenad says on October 24th, 2009 at 12:03 am

It breaks down into this:
1. Tesla was much brighter than Edison
2. Tesla did not value money as much as Edison
3. Edison is more of a corrupt businessman than an inventor.
4. Edison is a thief.
5. Tesla tried to make our lives easier, while Edison only cared about your money.
6. Wardenclyffe collapse was most likely an inside job.
7. No businessman/economist would like Tesla because he would make them all bankrupt.
8. He would probably be the richest man in the world.
9. The government stole his work and can’t even figure out how to make any of it.

End of story. There is no productivity/unproductivity. Tesla gave us a chance and we fucked it up. Maybe if he didn’t make his experiments in the US, he wouldn’t be ripped off, cheated and drown in the ditch after his hard work. All beautiful minds come from elsewhere, certainly not from America. Businessman inventors are the productivity of capitalism, or restate.. evil.

John Syd Paraggua says on October 31st, 2009 at 4:50 pm

i’m from the philippines and we were always taught in grade school that edison was a great american inventor.we never heard of tesla.our system of education were based from the americans,because they occupied us for 5 years during ww2.i heard about tesla when i was in college from my cousin taking up electrical engineering.i did’nt mind him then,it is only now that i’ve realized how great this inventor was.

Gab says on November 1st, 2009 at 7:01 pm

Tesla. Sure he wasn’t a great marketer but he thought about the future and our technology today is mainly based of of Tesla’s inventions and ideas.

Moises says on November 8th, 2009 at 8:52 am

O autor desse texto certamente é americano, está defendendo Thomas Edson por ser americano…Edson morreu rico porque roubou muitos inventos de seus ajudantes e colaboradores. Ele é glorificado como inventor da lampada, nas escolas do EUA isso é ensinado como verdade, mas Thomas Edson nunca inventou a lampada, ele a roubou de Sir Joseph Shaw. Também roubou Tesla. Thomas Edson era um aprimorador e não inventor. Sou americano do sul, mas tenho que reconhecer o croata Tesla como o melhor.

morgwar says on November 17th, 2009 at 8:19 pm

Edison was better at selling his stuff, but tesla was pure genius. Edison did it for the money, but Tesla did it for the science.