[TheForge] Light bulbs and shop power

[James Binnion]

On Aug 3, 2012, at 4:37 PM, Jerry Frost wrote:

> Yeah, edison was an SOB but Tesla had less sense for business than a beaver 
> has for saving trees, he all but gave up all his rights to AC, Radio, TV and 
> such without any help. Heck Tesla was an outright thief, he converted 
> virtually all the profit he owed Westinghouse for AC generation and 
> transmission to build the Wyrdcliff power transmission tower. I'll happily 
> accept corrections on missed details, say Westinghouse NOT being the company 
> that got snookered by backing Tesla.

You have a few things twisted around about Tesla, while he was no business man for certain he insured George Westinghouse would eventually win the War of Currents where Edison and Westinghouse nearly bankrupted themselves by letting Westinghouse out of his contract to pay the patent royalties on Tesla's polyphase induction motor and other AC power generation and transmission patents. Tesla may have been the greatest inventor that ever lived, certainly more so than Edison or Westinghouse. He never could work for anyone very long even in companies he started his investors fired him. He resorted to digging ditches for pay more than once after being fired. He was also crazy as a shit house mouse by the time he died alone and with only a few cents to his name.



James Binnion
jbin at well.com