Musk's Alignment with Tesla: Historian's Opinion Unveiled, Possible Differences May Shock You
In today's world, mention Tesla and odds are good you'll think of electric cars and the wealthiest man alive, Elon Musk. But what would Nikola Tesla himself think of his company and its use of his name? Historian Professor Iwan Morus opines that Tesla would've been thrilled and would've taken credit for inventing the electric car.
Born in 1856, Tesla lived in an era of scientific breakthroughs, with Thomas Edison and Albert Einstein among his contemporaries. As a Serbian-American inventor, engineer, and showman, he made significant contributions to the new world of electrification.
Tesla was a key player in the War of Currents, advocating for alternating current (AC) over Edison's direct current (DC) and collaborating with industrialist George Westinghouse. AC became the dominant form of electrical power in the US, marking a crucial victory for Tesla and the development of modern infrastructure.
His work paved the way for modern electrical systems, with his polyphase motor transforming the industry. However, Tesla was known for making grand claims, frequently overstating his involvement in technologies he didn't fully develop. So it's easy to imagine Tesla asserting credit for electric car technology, which was already in development during his lifetime.
Elon Musk, despite not founding the company or choosing its name, has since become the public face of Tesla. The parallels between Musk and Tesla stretch beyond a shared name, with Musk cultivating an image as a rebellious entrepreneur, pushing the boundaries of technology and industry, and expressing ambitions to colonize Mars.
According to Morus, Musk sees himself as a Tesla-like figure, an innovator with the power to alter the world through sheer will. Both men have been mythologized as solitary geniuses capable of shaping the future single-handedly.
However, Morus argues that this image oversimplifies the complex, collective nature of engineering and technological progress. The real triumphs of late Victorian engineering were the result of massive collaboration rather than individual genius.
While Tesla's public performances and demonstrations earned him the nickname 'The Wizard of Electricity,' they also glossed over the true collaborative nature of his work. Tesla died impoverished and largely forgotten in 1943, having failed to monetize his ideas effectively during his lifetime.
Despite this, it's not hard to imagine Tesla being proud to see his name on a fleet of electric cars. After all, he had a profound impact on the field that led to their development. So, while we can't know for sure what Tesla would have thought, it's reasonable to guess that he would have been delighted by the progress made in his name.
Technology in today's world is largely associated with Elon Musk and his company, Tesla, which is a revival of the name of the Serbian-American inventor, Nikola Tesla. Given Nikola Tesla's significant contributions to electrification and his advocacy for alternating current over direct current, it's plausible that he would have been proud to see his name associated with advancements in electric vehicle technology.
