Kaylee Dillow reporter
There is a theory that connects history’s greatest innovator to today’s most distinguished and powerful figures. These figures would be Nikola Tesla, President Donald Trump, and Elon Musk. The government’s role in controlling knowledge and power has long been questioned, with many believing that vital information is being withheld from the public. How does one of history’s most powerful, yet secretive, innovators connect to the political and technology leaders of today?
To begin, Tesla had some trouble with the government during his time. Tesla was credited with the invention of the radio, but struggled with patent disputes, including one against Guglielmo Marconi. Marconi won a Nobel Prize in 1911 for the invention of the radio. Tesla’s patents were reinstated after his death to avoid a lawsuit against Marconi.
Before Tesla’s passing in 1943, Tesla claimed to have perfected a “death ray” with the capabilities of destroying 10,000 enemy airplanes at the distance of 250 miles. He bragged about his work to reporters, stating the “all-penetrating” beam would pack one hundred billion watts into just one one-hundred-millionth of a square centimeter. In Tesla’s homeland of (former) Yugoslavia, they begged him to return home and install the rays as a means of protection from the Nazis.
Tesla was found dead on Jan. 7, 1943, in the New Yorker Hotel. The exact cause of his death was coronary thrombosis, a condition where blood clots form in the coronary arteries, leading to heart failure.
Following his death, the U.S. government was terrified that Germany would get to the weapon first, ultimately deciding to seize Tesla’s papers in the name of preserving them, as well as wartime security concerns. However, Tesla’s nephew, Sava Kosanović, a Yugoslavian ambassador, arrived first. He found documents missing, including a notebook labeled “Government.”
P.E. Foxworth, assistant director of the New York Federal Bureau of Investigation office, was called to investigate, leading the Office of Alien Property, seizing all of Tesla’s belongings and possessions. However, Tesla was a U.S. citizen, not an alien, meaning the agency did not have authority in this matter. It is the government, though, so they typically do what they want in disregards to legal niceties in the name of national security.
Dr. John G. Trump, an electrical engineer with the National Defense Research Committee of the Office of Scientific Research and Development, was called to analyze the Tesla papers. Official documents released by the Central Intelligence Agency discussing Tesla’s work signed by Dr. Trump himself dated Jan. 30, 1943, gave details of his analysis. Furthermore, there are official correspondence from the Pentagon stating, “Documentation may have significant commercial and military value. Additionally, it will serve our agenda, and we are not obliged to release materials to anyone at this time.” Trump concluded that Tesla’s work was more speculative and philosophical, lacking new, practical methods or proven principles to make these concepts a reality.
A rumor began to surface about a package from Tesla left in a hotel vault. This package was believed to contain a prototype of the death ray. However, when opened, it was discovered to be a simple electrical measuring device, leading some to speculate that Tesla either faked his project for funding or was using it as bogus collateral for the hotel bill.
Just after World War II, there was a new sense of interest in beam weapons. Copies of Tesla’s papers on his particle beam weaponry were distributed to Patterson Air Force Base in Dayton, Ohio. The project was called “Project Nick.” It was heavily funded to evaluate the practicality of Tesla’s concept. Details of the experiment were never published, and the project was supposedly discontinued.
The copies of Tesla’s papers mysteriously disappeared, and no one officially knows what has happened to them. Many believe that the Trump family is in possession of the original documents. Some claim that Tesla’s nephew took the plans before the government got to them, while others speculate that Dr. Trump claimed he discovered nothing of importance, but the government secretly resumed the research.
Decades later, one of today’s technological leaders, Elon Musk, purchased a car company named to honor Nikola Tesla and his contributions to electrical engineering and energy. Musk is now President Trumps right hand man. Many speculate that if the Trump family has Tesla’s files and paperwork, that they are working with Musk to create the technology Tesla imagined.
The mystery surrounding Tesla’s lost research, government involvement, and possible connections to today’s most influential and powerful figures continues to fuel speculation. The secrecy surrounding Tesla’s death ray concept and his papers raise questions about what other discoveries may have been hidden, or even used, throughout the decades.
While official records suggest Tesla’s work seemed speculative, the missing documents and the government’s classified information, along with their involvement, leaves room for doubt. Did Dr. Trump dismiss Tesla’s work as impractical, or was valuable knowledge being withheld from the public and being quietly used for military technological advancements? If the Trump family truly does possess Tesla’s lost research, could Musk be bringing those ideas to life today?
Though there may be no definite proof, the connections between Tesla, Trump, and Musk remain a complex, yet intriguing, web of technology, power, and secrecy. Whether Tesla’s ideas are being utilized in secret or remain lost to history, one thing is for certain; Tesla’s ideas were far ahead of his time. If any part of his lost work has survived, it could change in ways no one can ever imagine. It all depends on who is the one possessing and controlling this power.