Sources of Funding for Nikola Tesla’s Projects (1884–1900)

The personality of Nikola Tesla is known throughout the world.His inventions improved the lives of every person on Earth, especially through the implementation of the alternating current system.Nevertheless, throughout his life the scientist never possessed enormous financial resources to realize projects of such a tremendous scale.Being an immigrant and having no connections, he nevertheless managed to win investors over to his side, persuading them to abandon what at that time was considered a more stable and profitable project -Thomas Edison's direct current system.At the same time, Tesla was granted an impressive number of patents between 1884 and 1900, namely 89, many of which were implemented thanks to financial investments.It is important to note that any large-scale scientific research presupposes an economic foundation -investment and the profit derived from it.Such financial support was provided by Westinghouse, Morgan, and the Rothschilds.The objectives of this study are to determine the conditions under which Tesla's projects were implemented between 1884 and 1900; to reveal the main directions of Nikola Tesla's scientific research; and to examine the process of investment in Tesla's projects.The source base of this study consists of Tesla's correspondence, patents, newspaper clippings, and autobiography.The historiography of the research includes the works of G. Tsverava and B. Rzhonsnitsky.To accomplish the objectives of this study, a set of methods was employed in order to achieve the greatest possible degree of objectivity.These included the historical-genetic method, which consistently reconstructs events and thereby brings the research closer to historical reality; content analysis, used to extract the necessary material from Tesla's patents; and the comparative method, which enabled us to analyze the obtained material from different perspectives.After moving to the United States, Nikola Tesla began working for Thomas Edison, but this cooperation was unsuccessful.It was a difficult period in the scientist's life.Long and exhausting working shifts drained all of Tesla's strength, yet he continued to work.What Tesla considered to be his lifeline was Edison's promise that if he improved the generator, he would receive $50,000.