Nikola Tesla Tattoos

Nikola Tesla had a staggeringly brilliant mind, and he was the driving force behind many different inventions, with contributing to the design of the alternating current (AC) electric delivery system being the most notable. Chances are that if you’re reading this article, the electricity provided to the device you’re using is delivered via AC. Tesla’s legacy continues to inspire people worldwide, with many choosing to commemorate his genius with Nikola Tesla tattoos.

In 2022, unfortunately, Tesla’s name is less associated with his many inventions as it is with the controversial billionaire who’s celebrating a birthday today, Elon Musk. This guy:

It really is a goddamn shame considering that Musk has never invented a single thing in his entire life. Tesla, the car company, has done some innovative stuff, but Musk isn’t the scientist behind any of it. I know, I know, I’m just a grumpy journalist railing against the Supreme Edgelord who is going to fix all of society’s problems with tunnels and self-driving cars that tend to run over pedestrians on occasion, and all of that is true. But I wanted to let you know a little about the ingenious and enigmatic Nikola Tesla as well.

Ideas are the reason we know Tesla, but one idea in particular ended up being his downfall. His contemporary and rival, Thomas Edison, was intent on getting a patent on every single one of “his” inventions (Edison often ended up taking credit for the work of other designers within his lab). Tesla had this crazy notion that electricity should be provided to all for free. In addition, he felt that power plants should be green and not operate on coal, and this was back in the 1920s. His dream of free electricity was not one that went over well in the United States, particularly in that era, and Tesla had trouble securing the funding necessary to make his dream a reality. When considered through a capitalist lens it makes sense—who is going to invest in something that won’t make a profit?—but humanity definitely lost out. Things really haven’t changed that much, have they?

Oh, and did we mention that Tesla loved pigeons? During the later years of his life he spent an inordinate amount of time at the park feeding thousands of pigeons. There was one pigeon he was particularly fond of, a white pigeon who he spent over $2,000 nursing back to health. He described the pigeon thusly: 

“I have been feeding pigeons, thousands of them for years. But there was one, a beautiful bird, pure white with light grey tips on its wings; that one was different. It was a female. I had only to wish and call her and she would come flying to me. I loved that pigeon as a man loves a woman, and she loved me. As long as I had her, there was a purpose to my life.”

Tesla considered himself to be a humanist and his views on universal accessibility to electricity and the care he took for a simple pigeon show what a compassionate man he was. Unlike a certain you know who.

Anyways, lots of people have been inspired by Nikola Tesla over the years and have gotten inked to celebrate the once forgotten inventor. Enjoy this gallery of Nikola Tesla tattoos!