Edison versus Tesla, Patent Theft and Propaganda
The Edison versus Tesla rivalry wasn’t about science. It was about protecting a monopoly by any means necessary. When
The Edison versus Tesla rivalry wasn’t about science. It was about protecting a monopoly by any means necessary. When Thomas Edison realized alternating current threatened his direct current empire, he launched one of the dirtiest business campaigns in American history. He electrocuted animals in public, secretly funded the electric chair, and flooded cities with propaganda claiming his competitor’s technology would kill families.
The better technology almost lost. Every tactic Edison used is still deployed in business warfare today.
The Broken Promise
In 1884, Nikola Tesla arrived in America with four cents and a letter of introduction to Thomas Edison. Edison hired the 28-year-old Serbian engineer and, according to Tesla, offered $50,000 to redesign his inefficient direct current generators. Tesla completed the work. When he asked for payment, Edison reportedly laughed it off as “American humor.” Tesla quit immediately.
Whether the exact amount was $50,000 remains disputed. What’s certain is Tesla left convinced he’d been cheated. He spent time digging ditches for Edison’s company to pay bills while searching for investors. George Westinghouse eventually recognized what Edison had dismissed. Westinghouse bought Tesla’s AC patents and began commercializing the superior technology.
Edison saw the existential threat. By 1887, Westinghouse had installed more than half as many generating stations as Edison in just one year. AC could transmit power miles beyond generating plants. DC barely traveled one mile without massive power loss. Edison’s infrastructure advantage was collapsing.
He needed a weapon. He chose fear.
The Death Demonstrations
“Just as certain as death, Westinghouse will kill a customer within 6 months after he puts in a system of any size,” Edison predicted publicly.
In 1887, a Buffalo dentist seeking humane execution methods wrote Edison for advice. Edison initially declined, claiming to oppose capital punishment. When pressed, he saw opportunity. He recommended “alternating machines, manufactured principally in this country by Mr. Geo. Westinghouse” as most effective for killing.
In June 1888, Edison began staging demonstrations for reporters. He electrocuted dogs on metal plates connected to AC dynamos. Throughout the year, he purchased stray dogs from neighborhood boys at 25 cents each, killing them at different voltages to “prove” AC was deadly. By year’s end, he demonstrated on calves and a horse before a New York State committee investigating electric executions.
New York wanted Westinghouse AC dynamos for its new electric chair. Westinghouse refused. Edison secretly paid electricity salesman Harold Brown to build the chair using AC anyway. Brown obtained the dynamos through undisclosed means.
Edison invented a new word. Criminals would be “Westinghoused.”
On August 6, 1890, William Kemmler’s execution horrified witnesses. After 17 seconds of current, Kemmler began shrieking. The dynamo needed recharging. He wheezed for minutes while witnesses vomited and fainted. His coat caught fire. The brutality proved nothing about AC’s supposed dangers, but Edison’s propaganda linked Westinghouse’s technology with death in public consciousness.
Modern Warfare, Old Tactics
The Edison versus Tesla conflict established playbooks still used in competitive business destruction. The tactics are instantly recognizable in modern corporate warfare.
FUD (Fear, Uncertainty, Doubt). Edison didn’t need to prove AC was more dangerous. He just needed people to believe it might be. Westinghouse faced an impossible defense. How do you prove a negative? Modern tech companies deploy FUD constantly. “That competitor’s encryption might have backdoors.” “Their cloud service could lose your data.” “Their platform isn’t really secure.” The accusation alone creates hesitation.
Regulatory Capture. Edison didn’t just lobby for favorable regulations. He helped create them. His involvement with the electric chair meant state execution methods would use AC, permanently associating it with death. Today, established companies write regulations that conveniently lock out competitors. Tech giants lobby for “safety standards” that require infrastructure only they possess. Pharmaceutical companies influence FDA processes that make generic entry nearly impossible.
Astroturfing Before the Term Existed. Harold Brown appeared to be an independent electricity expert recommending AC for executions. He was secretly on Edison’s payroll. Modern equivalents flood Twitter with “concerned users” criticizing competitors, create “independent” research institutes that publish favorable studies, and fund “grassroots” movements that oppose rival technologies.
Making Competition Illegal. The ultimate goal wasn’t defeating Westinghouse in the market. It was making AC illegal through association with execution. If Edison convinced enough states to ban AC power as too dangerous, Westinghouse would be destroyed regardless of technical superiority. Modern parallels include pushing for bans on competitors through safety concerns, environmental regulations, or national security claims.
Why Superior Technology Loses
The Edison versus Tesla war demonstrates why better products don’t automatically win. AC was objectively superior for power transmission. Tesla’s polyphase system solved problems DC couldn’t address. The technology should have won quickly. Instead, it took over a decade of brutal warfare, nearly bankrupted Westinghouse, and cost Tesla millions in forfeited royalties.
Edison controlled infrastructure, relationships, and narrative. His existing DC installations in major cities. He had relationships with regulators and media. He could flood newspapers with “expert” opinions about AC dangers. Technical superiority meant nothing against coordinated propaganda.
Westinghouse survived because he had capital to outlast the assault and because Tesla literally tore up his royalty contract, forfeiting millions to keep Westinghouse Electric solvent. Even then, victory came only when Westinghouse won the contract to light the 1893 Chicago World’s Fair, providing undeniable public proof that AC worked safely at scale.
The lesson persists. VHS beat Betamax despite inferior quality. Windows dominated despite arguable technical inferiority to Mac OS. First-mover advantage, network effects, and propaganda often matter more than engineering excellence. Companies with superior products fail daily because they underestimate the power of coordinated business warfare.
The Real Patent Theft
The popular narrative focuses on whether Edison paid Tesla fairly for generator redesigns. The actual intellectual property theft was more systematic. Edison hired talented engineers, extracted their innovations, and claimed credit while compensating them minimally. Tesla was one of many.
This model still dominates. Tech companies hire engineers with “all inventions belong to the company” contracts. Employees create patentable innovations. Companies reap rewards. Individual inventors get salaries and watch their net worth stay flat while stock options make executives wealthy. The Edison model of extracting value from employee innovation is now standard practice.
When Propaganda Fails
Despite animal executions, electric chair horror, and millions spent on propaganda, Edison lost. Westinghouse won the Chicago World’s Fair contract in 1893. AC became the standard. Edison later admitted regretting not taking Tesla’s advice.
The Edison versus Tesla outcome offers hope. Coordinated smear campaigns, regulatory manipulation, and deep pockets don’t guarantee victory. But they make victory expensive, slow, and dependent on factors beyond product quality. Westinghouse nearly went bankrupt. Tesla died poor. The better technology won, but at enormous cost to those who developed it.
For modern entrepreneurs facing entrenched competitors willing to fight dirty, the lessons are clear. Technical superiority isn’t enough. Capital reserves matter. Public demonstrations of your technology working safely at scale matter. Willingness to sacrifice short-term profits for long-term survival matters. And sometimes, having a competitor make a public mistake that exposes their propaganda as false makes all the difference.
What Modern Founders Should Know
The Edison versus Tesla conflict wasn’t unique. It’s the template. Established companies with inferior products use identical tactics today. They’ll claim your technology is unsafe without proof. Lobby for regulations that lock you out. They’ll fund seemingly independent voices to criticize you. They’ll make competing with them legally risky through patent lawsuits even when their claims are weak.
The question isn’t whether you’ll face these tactics. If your product threatens established revenue, you will. The question is whether you have the capital, evidence, and stamina to survive until public demonstration proves your technology works. Westinghouse did. Many don’t.
Edison’s propaganda eventually failed because AC demonstrably worked better and millions of people experienced that superiority directly. But the war took over a decade, cost fortunes, and destroyed careers. The better technology won. The inventors didn’t.
