
Originally Posted by
kojax
People didn't like Tesla, because he very arrogant, always throwing it in everyone's face that he was smarter than them. The fact is was true didn't help. It just made the problem worse.
I've read a lot of books about Tesla (most of them in english language) and I don't know what is the source for the text above. Tesla had some weird trips like taking a table for one person in the restoraunt or his well known jerbs fobia, but he wasn't arrogant. Well, he was arrogant to some people like Edison who didn't payed Tesla for improving his DC system, or to Marconni who has stolen 17 of Tesla's patents to make a radio. Every action has a reaction. How would you feel in the same situation? Perhaps others envied Tesla too?

Originally Posted by
kojax
If the people of his day could attribute an accomplishment to anyone else other than him, I get the impression they would do so.
All people or just few people?
Well, here are the facts:
1. T.Edison (already invested a lot of money in his inefficient DC system to electrify the world)
2. J.P.Morgan (owns a steel company and able to produce wires for electric transmission)
Then Tesla came up with AC system and wirelles electric transmission.
We can also involve other names in the story (but it will probably make a lot of noise here):
1. Henry Ford (car industry, by 1932 Ford controlled over 1/3 of gasoline engine production worldwide)
2. Rockefeller or whoever (oil monopoly)
Then Tesla came up with electric car. These days, Google co-founders are pumping money to make Tesla Roadster.
Why is so hard to accept that lots of Tesla's ideas were simply unacceptable by the powerfull businessmen of that time? It is very possible. People can hate him, talk that he was arrogant or whatever, but this guy pioneered second industrial revolution.