One car company that’s been talked about a lot this year is
Tesla
. The American company, specializing in electric vehicles and clean energy, was originally founded as Tesla Motors in 2003 by Martin Eberhard and Marc Tarpenning; however, by February 2004,
Elon Musk
spearheaded the initial round of investment and took the helm as chairman, later ascending to CEO in 2008.
Despite its prominence, there remains some mystery around the meaning behind the
car
brand’s name, but some information about it has recently come to light. The topic came up on social media, and it got a lot of people talking about the unique history of the company.
One person wrote: “What is the meaning of the word ‘Tesla’ in a business context? How did the company get its name?”
- Archaeologists discover eerie Egyptian burial site with chilling messages on coffins
- Rory McIlroy tempted fate before Tommy Fleetwood’s Travelers Championship agony
It wasn’t long before many people chimed in with their thoughts and ideas. Apparently, the name may embody more symbolism that you realize.
Little you may know that the company was actually named after Nikola Tesla, an electrical engineer who was considered to be a brilliant inventor. Musk decided to name the company after him, which allows his legacy to live on in some way, as he wasn’t as successful as he could have been back in the day.
According to
Seattle Times
: “In the age of Edison, Westinghouse, Marconi and J.P. Morgan, Tesla was a giant of innovation because of his contributions in the fields of electricity, radio and robotics.”
Many say Tesla is actually now getting the credit he deserves thanks to Musk. “It’s a sociological fact that Elon Musk took the Tesla name and launched Nikola Tesla into the stratosphere,” explained Marc Seifer, author of Wizard: The Life and Times of Nikola Tesla. “Tesla’s risen to the surface again, and now he’s getting his due.”
The inventor actually featured on the cover of Time magazine back in 1931, but died in poverty in 1943 after dedicating years to projects that never managed to secure enough funding to take off properly.
Even so, some of his most important inventions are perhaps more notable today. Back in 1884, Tesla traveled to New York to work for Thomas Edison, and he hoped that Edison would help fund and develop a Tesla invention, specifically an alternating-current (AC) motor and electrical system.
The Seattle Times added: “But Edison was investing in highly inefficient direct-current (DC) systems, and he had Tesla re-engineer a DC power plant on Pearl Street in Lower Manhattan. The men soon parted company over a financial dispute.
“George Westinghouse provided funding for Tesla’s AC induction motors and devices, which soon came to dominate manufacturing and urban life. Unlike the DC motors of the time, Tesla’s motors didn’t create sparks or require expensive permanent magnets to operate. Instead, they used a rotating magnetic field that used power more efficiently in a basic design that is still the core of most electric motors.”
Tesla created the power-generating system at Niagara Falls in 1896, and it was considered a big boost for his AC system. In time, whole cities went on to run on AC power, following a battle which Westinghouse won against Edison, the major DC proponent. The story of their conflict is actually told in the movie, The Current War, which stars Benedict Cumberbatch as Edison.
Tesla was also responsible for developing radio technology, and he tested it between 1892 and 1894. He was known for referring to radio as an “oscillator” which enabled electricity to convert into high-frequency radio waves, allowing energy, sound and other transmissions to travel lengthy distances.
He pictured a system that would be capable of transmitting radio and electricity around the world and, following a few good experiments in Colorado in 1899, Tesla started to construct what he dubbed a “World System” near Shoreham, Long Island.
His ambition was to be able to power vehicles, boats and aircraft wirelessly. In a nutshell, he thought anything that required electricity could access it from the air, kind of like how we receive transmitted data, sound and images on smartphones; however, he didn’t have enough money, and J.P. Morgan Jr., who aided funding for the project, stopped helping him out.
Seattle Times exaplined: “His achievements remained incomplete. He created the AC energy system and the basics of radio communication and robotics but wasn’t able to bring them all to fruition. His life shows that even for a brilliant inventor, innovation doesn’t happen in a vacuum. It requires a broad spectrum of talents and skills. And lots of capital.”