Eeeehhh... he was a businessman. He was part carny barker, part loan shark... he figured out the
business of inventing in a time when there was no such thing. Tesla was the polar opposite; a true scientist interested in science for its own sake and the betterment of humanity.
Westinghouse wisely chose to leverage Edison's business talents as reign on Tesla's immense genius; it was quite the accomplishment, getting people to pay money for electrical power when the "fuel" came essentially for free in the form of moving water. But that created the fundamental business model by which other forms of power were delivered, and to a large extent, how the economy of our entire modern society now runs, for good or evil.
![Confused :-//](https://www.eevblog.com/forum/Smileys/default/confused0024.gif)
The elites of the time were outraged because it in large part meant that wealth was no longer
automatically part and parcel of who won the parentage lottery.
However, as with any system; once it's been established, the "elites" will find a way to corrupt it to their own ends.
![Face Palm :palm:](https://www.eevblog.com/forum/Smileys/default/facepalm.gif)
It is only during those brief periods
while the current paradigm is in flux that there is any real social equity.
mnem
/soapbox