Tesla Quotes

“My project was retarded by laws of nature. The world was not prepared for it. It was too far ahead of time. But the same laws will prevail in the end and make it a triumphal success.”

Nikola Tesla
“My Inventions V – The Magnifying Transmitter” (Electrical Experimenter, June, 1919)

“...the idea gradually took hold of me that the earth might be used in place of the wire, thus dispensing with artificial conductors altogether. The immensity of the globe seemed an unsurmountable obstacle but after a prolonged study of the subject I became satisfied that the undertaking was rational...”

Nikola Tesla
“Famous Scientific Illusions” (Electrical Experimenter, February, 1919)

“That is the trouble with many inventors; they lack patience. They lack the willingness to work a thing out slowly and clearly and sharply in their mind, so that they can actually 'feel it work.' They want to try their first idea right off; and the result is they use up lots of money and lots of good material, only to find eventually that they are working in the wrong direction. We all make mistakes, and it is better to make them before we begin.”

Nikola Tesla
“Tesla, Man and Inventor” (New York Times, March 31, 1895)

“No desire for material advantages has animated me in all this work, though I hope, for the sake of the continuance of my labors, that these will soon follow, naturally, as a compensation for valuable services rendered to science and industry.”

Nikola Tesla
“Some Experiments in Tesla's Laboratory with Currents of High Potential and High Frequency” (The Electrical Review, March 29, 1899)

“Following up these promising revelations I demonstrated conclusively by experiments that great amounts of electrical energy can be transmitted to any distance through upper air strata which are easily accessible, and since this truth has been recognized every fiber has been strained to realize such a transmission on a large scale.”

Nikola Tesla
“Some Experiments in Tesla's Laboratory with Currents of High Potential and High Frequency” (The Electrical Review, March 29, 1899)

“On more than one occasion you have offended me, but in my qualities both as Christian and philosopher I have always forgiven you and only pitied you for your errors.”

Nikola Tesla
“Tesla's Complaint to Electrical Engineer Editor w/ Response” (The Electrical Engineer, November 24, 1898)