George Westinghouse uses Tesla power to defeat Edison in the Battle of the Currents (2023)

The War of Electricity was a major technological battle in the late 19th century between the Edison Electric Light Company and the Westinghouse Electric Company over which power transmission system to use. Westinghouse supports AC (Alternating Current) and Edison Light Company supports DC (Direct Current).

On the Internet, this fight is often described as a battle between rival inventors Thomas Edison and Nikola Tesla. This is a good story about the hero Tesla defeating his rival Edison. Both Edison and Tesla were famous back then, and both were a little crazy. Thomas Edison was a famous inventor who achieved success and media attention by inventing the phonograph. Edison used his fame to begin construction of a direct current power plant in New York City. Unlike his rival Edison, Westinghouse did not seek media attention and was a deeply private man.

A public debate over which system should be used to feed America turned into a vicious smear campaign against Edison. An inventor and electrical engineer named Harold Brown became a leading figure in the campaign to make the world aware of the dangers of alternating current. Brown is said to have paid local children to collect stray dogs from the street and use them to conduct experiments demonstrating the dangers of alternating current. Although Edison publicly condemned the death penalty, he secretly funded Brown's development of the AC chair. Edison launched a media campaign to tell the world that alternating current was deadly and used the term "Westinghouse" to describe the electrocution.

The concept of AC power distribution is not new to Westinghouse, who was also an inventor in the gas industry. Westinghouse believed that alternating current was a better method of power distribution, and he believed that the electric utility company founded by his rival Thomas Edison had a structural flaw in its belief in using direct current. In 1885, Westinghouse became interested in the invention of European inventors Gollard and Gibbs and acquired the US rights to their patent for AC transformers. The Westinghouse Electric Company and its associates worked to improve and redesign the transformers. The Westinghouse Electric Company was founded in 1886.

Tesla's partnership with Westinghouse Electric

In 1888 Nikola Tesla presented his polyphase AC system to the American Institute of Electrical Engineers in his report "A New System of Alternating Current Motors and Transformers". When Westinghouse heard about Nikola Tesla and Tesla's polyphase system, he knew this might be the last piece he needed to build a better system than Edison.

George Westinghouse had worked with AC for many years before meeting Tesla. Westinghouse was a systems thinker who was also good at spotting good ideas and people and pocketing them, and he knew AC distribution was a good idea. Westinghouse was impressed by Tesla's work and asked him to collaborate. Westinghouse bought Tesla's AC electrical system patents and paid Tesla to work with him until those patents were fully implemented.

The first major event in Tesla's victory over Edison in the War of the Currents occurred when Tesla teamed up with George Westinghouse. Over the next few years Tesla and Westinghouse would work together and achieve two major successes marking their victory over Edison in the battle of electric currents.

In 1892, after fierce competition with Edison, Westinghouse was awarded the contract to power the Columbus Exposition. On May 1, 1893, President Grover Cleveland pushed a button and 100,000 light bulbs lit the Columbus Exposition. The success of Tesla's multi-phase system installed at the show will help Westinghouse land its next big win, a first contract for Niagara Falls.

From a young age, Tesla dreamed of harnessing the power of the great natural wonder of Niagara Falls. In October 1893, Tesla's dream came true when the Niagara Falls Electric Company awarded Westinghouse a contract to build the power plant. Westinghouse wins the battle of currents under Tesla's tutelage.

To make matters worse, Edison also lost control of the electronics business in 1892. The famous financier J.P. Morgan orchestrated the merger of Edison General Electric and Thomson-Houston Electric into General Electric.

How much money does Tesla make?

The Nikola Tesla saga told of a man who died penniless alone in a New York hotel, but a partnership between Tesla and Westinghouse would make Tesla a millionaire.

Different versions of the story tell how the deal came about and how the two men met. It's generally accepted that Westinghouse paid Tesla about $60,000 for its alternator and generator patents, which is about $1.4 million today. Tesla also offered Westinghouse a monthly salary of $2,000, which is $48,000 a month today.

One of the terms of the partnership between Tesla and Westinghouse was that Tesla would receive a $2.50 royalty for every horsepower sold. When AC power was widespread, Westinghouse paid Tesla hundreds of thousands of dollars a year in royalties. In 1890, a year before Tesla's 35th birthday, he was already a millionaire.

Another part of the financial arrangement of the Tesla-Westinghouse partnership that is often skewed in the narrative is Tesla's agreement to eliminate ongoing royalties on the electricity it generates. Westinghouse was struggling with cash flow and asked Tesla if he could hold the payments for a while. Tesla reportedly welcomed the opportunity Westinghouse had given him and broke the ongoing royalty contract.

Tesla didn't just back out of the contract without receiving anything in return. According to Margaret Cheney's book Tesla: The Misfit, Westinghouse's 1897 annual report states that Tesla received $216,600 for the outright purchase of his patents. The relative value of $216,000.00 in 1897 exceeds the current purchasing power of $6 million. Here we list the dollar amounts paid in the 1890s and give some conservative estimates in modern dollars to compare and put those amounts in perspective. For example, using a simple purchasing power calculator and multiplying $216,000 by the percentage increase in the consumer price index from 1897 to 2013, the relative value is just over $6.2 million.

Regardless of the method used to calculate the numbers, Tesla had made some notable savings after exiting the Westinghouse partnership.

after the current war

Nikola Tesla was a great companion to George Westinghouse as he defeated Thomas Edison in the Battle of the Electric Currents. Tesla had a vision, he could see problems and solve them mentally. Westinghouse has the business and managerial skills to build teams that accomplish our mission. Tesla and Westinghouse are a good team, but Tesla has moved on after the current wars.

The success of the Tesla-Westinghouse collaboration also explains many of Tesla's future failures. Without good business and managerial skills, Tesla would squander all of its private fortune on failed projects for years to come. In the PBS documentary Tesla Masters of Lightning, Tesla's great-nephew William Tebow explains Nikola Tesla's downfall."He wasn't interested in the business. He did not combine the importance of the business with the importance of his inventions and discoveries.”

Tesla seems to respect Westinghouse's role in the current wars. According to the Westinghouse Electric Nikola Tesla website:"George Westinghouse was, in my opinion, the only man in the world who, under the circumstances, could have taken over my air conditioning and won the fight against prejudice and the power of money. He was, of course, one of the true nobles of the world." .to the United States of America of which we are very proud and to which mankind owes a great debt of gratitude."

George Westinghouse died in 1914. Here are some things Tesla said about Westinghouse in Electric World on March 21, 1914.“His career was remarkable and successful. He brought to the world many valuable inventions and improvements, created new industries, promoted mechanical and electrical arts, and in many ways improved the conditions of modern life. A great pioneer and builder whose work met with great success. His name had a profound impact on his time and will be remembered for a long time.

Different accounts have differing accounts of why Westinghouse saved Tesla when he was bankrupt and only in his later years. In 1934 Tesla moved into the New York Hotel, where Westinghouse paid for the room. There is a story about a Tesla being hit by a cab on the streets of New York and getting injured. Westinghouse executives learned he needed help and agreed to pay for his room and board for the rest of his life.