The power in the socket next to you? Nikola Tesla helped invent it. He died broke, alone, in a New York hotel room. How does a genius end up with nothing? Three moves, and the last one cost him the most.
New York, 1884: a promised $50,000 bonus at Edison's company and a laugh. Then AC, George Westinghouse and a royalty that could have made him a fortune, until Tesla tore it up. Then the Wardenclyffe tower, J.P. Morgan's money, and a deed signed over for hotel bills.
CHAPTERS
0:00 The socket and the hotel room
0:14 Move 1: Edison's $50,000 laugh
0:39 Move 2: AC and the torn contract
1:14 Move 3: the tower
1:38 His name today
NOTES ON THE HISTORY
The $50,000 bonus story comes from Tesla's own account (My Inventions, 1919); no other record confirms it.
The torn royalty contract (Westinghouse, about 1897) is told in later biographies (J. J. O'Neill, Prodigal Genius, 1944); historians debate the details.
Wardenclyffe: J.P. Morgan declined further funding; Tesla transferred the property to the Waldorf-Astoria's owner against his hotel debts, and the tower was demolished in 1917.
The car company that took his name in 2003 has no link to Tesla or his family; it is mentioned only as a fact about his name.
Made for educational purposes; not financial or legal advice.
#NikolaTesla #History #TeslaVsEdison
CREDITS
Animation and production: @bookLessonsDailys.
