Honouring Tesla’s Legacy and His Enduring Influence on the Future
By: Ljilja Vujić
Thanks to Nikola Tesla’s inventions, you can read this text in its digital edition on your devices. His brilliant mind has allowed us to live in a world powered by energy in ways unimaginable in his time—an extraordinary leap in history. The world remained in darkness while he walked with glowing tubes in his hands, envisioning the future that now surrounds us.
As Vladimir Pištalo eloquently stated in his remarkable trilogy Tesla, A Portrait with Masks: “The world changed less between Plato’s time and Tesla’s birth than it did between Tesla’s birth and his death.”
Tesla bestowed an immeasurable legacy upon humanity, yet he departed this world alone and materially poor. However, his time is only just beginning as his creations grow significantly. Knowledge always finds a way and becomes an inspiration. Tesla lives on as a guiding force.
His legacy continues to spread, thanks mainly to the Tesla Science Foundation in Philadelphia, which, in collaboration with the Tesla Science Foundation of Serbia, paid tribute to the great scientist during the 13th International Conference at the New Yorker Hotel in New York. This hotel on Manhattan’s 33rd floor was where Tesla lived and worked during the last ten years and where he passed away on Christmas, January 7, 1943. On January 11, Tesla’s life and work were celebrated in the same hotel, honouring the man who created the future.
Tributes were paid to him, and the impact of his work was showcased through art, culture, science, and creativity. People from across the globe gathered to speak about Tesla, which continues to connect the world even today.
On this occasion, the Tesla Science Foundation and the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Serbia (PKS) joined forces to strengthen cooperation in innovation, youth entrepreneurship, and promoting Tesla’s legacy.
During the panel discussion “Tesla at Home: Supporting Innovations in Serbia,” Branislava Simanić, Director of the Entrepreneurship Sector at PKS, and her assistant Milica Selaković highlighted how the Chamber supports young entrepreneurs and start-up companies. Selaković introduced INNO-VERSE, a digital innovation platform, and BIZCHAT, a new AI-powered digital assistant for businesses. Speaking to our magazine, she emphasised that PKS aims to foster an innovative mindset among young people, helping them establish their businesses, achieve economic empowerment, and, most importantly, remain in their homeland. She also announced that a unique conference dedicated to Tesla, youth, and entrepreneurship innovations will be held at PKS in July this year.
Tesla’s genius continues to shape the world as a historical figure and a symbol of innovation and inspiration for future generations.
Gratitude was expressed to individuals worldwide who have selflessly worked to preserve Tesla’s legacy over the past year. Nikola Lončar, founder and president of the Tesla Science Foundation, was particularly pleased to see young and professional individuals joining this mission.
The Tesla Science Foundation in the U.S. and the Tesla Science Foundation of Serbia bring together admirers of great inventors worldwide. Their active efforts to promote his legacy range from installing Tesla’s busts globally to establishing Nikola Tesla Clubs and fostering cultural diplomacy in Serbia and internationally. The goal is to preserve identity and cultural heritage, connect young people in Serbia and the diaspora, strengthen unity and shared values, and educate future generations about history, culture, and Tesla’s lasting influence.
Speaking about Tesla’s legacy as an endless source of inspiration at the New Yorker event, Milica Selaković reminded the audience of Tesla’s landmark participation at the 1893 Chicago World’s Fair—a turning point in the history of electricity. In collaboration with Westinghouse, Tesla illuminated the entire exposition using alternating current, earning the event its lasting nickname, the City of Light.
On this occasion, Selaković announced that Tesla should once again “participate” in a specialised exhibition—this time, at home!
Tesla at Home
One hundred and thirty-two years ago, Nikola Tesla illuminated the Chicago World’s Fair. Now, 135 years later, Serbia will shine a light on his life and achievements.
A section of the EXPO 2027 specialised exhibition will be dedicated to Tesla’s groundbreaking contributions. The pavilion, named “The Power of Play,” will showcase the achievements of Serbia’s most renowned scientists—Mihajlo Pupin, Mileva Marić, and Milutin Milanković—with Tesla’s work as its central focus. The exhibition will highlight all of his inventions, particularly those showcased at the 1893 Chicago World’s Fair, where Tesla’s use of alternating current transformed the future of electricity.
Encounters honouring the genius, held in New York in the month of his passing, will continue in Belgrade in the month of his birth—the creator of one of the greatest transformations in human history.
A Museum in “Vapa’s Factory”
The long-awaited moment has finally arrived—Nikola Tesla’s legacy will soon have a space worthy of his contribution to science.
Currently housed in Krunska Street, where Tesla’s original belongings, writings, and pioneering inventions are showcased, the museum will be relocated to the former Milan Vapa paper factory. Tesla’s legacy—including documents, sketches, photographs, and the urn containing his remains—was brought to Belgrade in 1951. The original archive, preserved in the Krunska Street museum, has been recognised by UNESCO’s “Memory of the World” register, the highest level of cultural heritage protection. However, due to the limited space of just 250 square meters, much of Tesla’s rich collection remains locked in vaults.
The new museum, located in Vapa’s Factory on Bulevar Živojina Mišića, will span nearly 6,000 square meters, making it one of the most significant cultural landmarks in the Balkans. The visionary design for Tesla’s new home is a collaboration between the renowned British architectural firm Zaha Hadid Architects and Serbia’s Bureau Cube Partners. The architectural concept draws inspiration from Tesla’s vision of magnetic fields and the wireless transmission of electricity, embodying his groundbreaking ideas in a dynamic, modern space.
The Marvelous World That Electricity Will Create
Under this title, Tesla published an article 1915 discussing electricity’s transformative power. A section of the piece was dedicated to his predictions of future inventions, which he believed would shape the use of electrical energy across various fields. His vision for solar, wind, wave, and fossil fuel energy remains strikingly relevant today.
Tesla’s inevitable conclusion was that water is humanity’s most valuable resource, upon which the future must be built. He also predicted that with a wireless energy transmission system, humanity would eliminate all obstacles to material existence. Distance, the greatest barrier to human progress, would completely disappear—in thought, words, and action.
The War of Currents
Tesla’s inventions sparked a fierce battle between Thomas Edison, for whom Nikola initially worked for a monthly salary equivalent to today’s $400, and George Westinghouse, with whom Tesla later collaborated. The fight revolved around the transmission of electricity—direct current (DC), championed by Edison, versus alternating current (AC), developed and promoted by Tesla.
Edison’s business relied on DC power, which could only travel short distances. In contrast, AC power could flow in multiple directions, be transmitted over long distances, and increase or decrease its voltage. Comparing the two was like pitting a horse-drawn carriage against a jet engine.
Edison had the backing of J.P. Morgan, which nearly drove Westinghouse’s company to bankruptcy during the War of Currents. To save the company, Tesla tore up his contracts and waived his royalties, a decision that would have otherwise made him the world’s first billionaire. It was enough for him that Westinghouse believed in him and invested in his ideas.
A pure soul but a terrible capitalist, Tesla’s decision cost him an estimated $300 million in today’s value. In the years that followed, AC power became the global standard. Had Tesla kept his royalties, his heirs would be earning billions today.
Yet, he left behind something far greater than money. As an American professor said over a century ago:
“Tesla left nothing more for others to do. If we removed his contributions from industry, every wheel would stop turning, trams and trains would come to a halt, cities would be plunged into darkness, and factories would be dead and idle.”
The Wizard
Mark J. Seifer, a scholar who dedicated his career to studying every aspect of Tesla’s life, wrote an extraordinary biography titled Wizard. In it, he demonstrates that no phrase—not even “ahead of his time”—can fully capture the depth of Tesla’s genius.
Perhaps the word “wizard” comes closest, yet even it falls short, for Tesla’s legacy cannot be framed—it continues to expand, crossing all boundaries.