Nikola Tesla

About Nikola Tesla

Nikola Tesla (1856–1943) was a visionary inventor and electrical engineer whose contributions form the backbone of modern alternating current (AC) power systems. His pioneering work on the AC induction motor, polyphase system, and the Tesla coil secured him a high standing in the historical record, leading to his ranking as the #61 most historically important figure by MIT’s Pantheon project. Tesla's genius spanned radio technology, remote control, and wireless energy transfer, fundamentally shaping the electrical age that followed his life.

Despite this profound historical importance, Tesla's 2025 internet attention shows a significant disconnect. His Wikipedia pages garnered 3.3 million annualized views, placing him in a category of *overattention* relative to his historical rank, with an Attention Gap score of +5x. This suggests high, perhaps disproportionate, modern cultural relevance. Interestingly, he receives far fewer views than a contemporary figure like Elon Musk (#273 importance), who logged 26.4 million views, highlighting a clear disparity in contemporary search interest between a foundational historical inventor and a modern industrialist in the same broad field.

Furthermore, the trend data indicates a slight cooling of interest; his viewership saw a -6.2% year-over-year decline and a -8% drop in momentum between Q1 and Q3 of 2025, suggesting the current online fascination may be gradually receding from its peak.