Misinformation on Tesla.

HarveyH42

Joined Jul 22, 2007
426
Shortly after arriving in America, Tesla worked for Edison. Edison screwed Tesla on a repair job, claim he was only joking about the huge bonus. Tesla just walked away.

Westinghouse paid Tesla well, and was very helpful through the years. When Westinghouse bought Tesla's patents for AC, there were royalties, but they were extremely large (who would have guessed AC power would be so popular), and basically keeping Westinghouse from expanding. Tesla agreed to drop the royalties, as he just wanted to bring power to the people, cheaply.

If he had just cut the amount down to a reasonable amount, he could have completed the wireless power project, and instead of cheap electricity, we could tap into it for free. Kind of think this is where a lot of people get lost in the 'Free-Energy' world... I don't think Tesla meant that the energy would be free to produce, but could be tapped freely, anywhere, by anyone.
 

hgmjr

Joined Jan 28, 2005
9,027
"There is a story, unfortunately without documentation, that he (Westinghouse, during a visit to Tesla's lab) then turned to Tesla and offered him $1 million plus a royalty for all of his AC patents. If ever made, the offer must have been declined, for the records show that for his forty patents, Tesla received about $60,000 from the Westinghouse firm, which included $5,000 in cash and 150 shares of stock. Significantly, however, according to Westinghouse historical records, he (Tesla) was to earn $2.50 per horsepower sold. Within a few years these royalties would pose a curious problem."

Excerpted from the book TESLA-Man Out Of Time by Margaret Cheney
I offer the above snippet from the book that tends to bolster the comments by "unregistered" and HarveyH42.

hgmjr
 

Dave

Joined Nov 17, 2003
6,969
Thanks to both Harvey and hgmjr for providing some insight into this.

I wonder if Dennis can shed some light on where the information for the following statement in the link stated in the OP comes from:

Nikola Tesla conceived the basic principals of the polyphase induction motor in 1883, and had a half horsepower (400 watt) model by 1888. Though he received a million dollars from George Westinghouse for the rights to manufacture this invention, he died penniless.
If need be, it may be worth noting that there are several conflicting sides to this discussion; else it may be something that is deemed not necessary in a technical-focused publication such as the e-book.

Dave
 

HarveyH42

Joined Jul 22, 2007
426
I remember reading somewhere about the billions, but it was just a figure given, if Tesla hadn't given up the royalties. It was meant to show that Tesla could have been wealthy for many generations, not that there was any actual debt owed to him. Probably quoted out of context.

I use to read anything I could find about Tesla. He did some amazing things, considering the tools, equipment, and materials availiable at the time. He pretty much had to do much of the work himself. Can you imagine having to wind your own transformers, motors or alternators? Build your own test equipment because it doesn't exist?
 

hgmjr

Joined Jan 28, 2005
9,027
isnt electricity lot cheaper than that?
It is decidely cheaper than that.

Provided the story is true, it is difficult to imagine what prompted such a generous offer based on the cost of electrical energy today. Westinghouse may have simply been trying to dominate the industry at the time and may have imagined this as a way of controlling any competition from Tesla.

hgmjr
 

Dcrunkilton

Joined Jul 31, 2004
422
Quote:
Nikola Tesla conceived the basic principals of the polyphase induction motor in 1883, and had a half horsepower (400 watt) model by 1888. Though he received a million dollars from George Westinghouse for the rights to manufacture this invention, he died penniless.

Looks like I got it from here:
http://www.ece.umd.edu/~taylor/tesla.htm



If we can find a second reference verifying the Tesla did not recieve anywhere near one million dollars, I would be inclined to remove the verbage about him receiving one million dollars.
 

Dave

Joined Nov 17, 2003
6,969
Can I add the following to this discussion, from this website: http://www.bgdelektro.co.yu/english/nikola tesla eng.htm

Tesla held his first lecture on May 16, 1888 at the American Institute of Electrical Engineers, when he demonstrated his initial brushless AC induction motor, which marked the dawn of a new technological era. Very soon after that, the famous industrialist George Westinghouse visited Tesla, ready to offer him one million dollars for all of his AC motor and dynamo patents, but manages to buy them all for $60.000 and 150 shares of his Westinghouse Electric Company. Westinghouse also signed a contract with Tesla, offering him generous royalty agreement on future profits ($2.50 for each horse power (HP) of motors sold by the company). According to this, Tesla was about to become the richest man in the world. Years to come will prove Tesla's undivided loyalty to Westinghouse – when Westinghouse Electric Company was facing difficulties, Tesla simply ripped the contract.
Dave
 

Dcrunkilton

Joined Jul 31, 2004
422
OK , It looks like this is settled. I have changed (at ibiblio) the portion of the text refering to the million dollars to $65,000. Thanks all for your assistance.
 

Dave

Joined Nov 17, 2003
6,969
OK , It looks like this is settled. I have changed (at ibiblio) the portion of the text refering to the million dollars to $65,000. Thanks all for your assistance.
I agree the changes are a more accurate assessment. Thanks for making the changes at ibiblio.org, AAC should be updated shortly.

Dave
 
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