As much as we may like this to be real, it is not an actual interview with Tesla. Rather, it’s a poor translation from a 1995 Serbian play, ‘Tesla or Customization of an Angel’ by Serbian playwright, Stevan Pešić. As inspiration, in his own words, Pešić used Tesla the man himself.
The creative liberty takes this way beyond facts, and the many inconsistencies attest to that. For instance, Einstein was only 20 years old during this supposed interview. His Theory of Relativity didn’t begin development until 1905, and he published his theory of general relativity in 1915. Tesla didn’t begin criticising the theory until later in his life. The word “radar” was not coined until the late 1930s. Also, Tesla didn’t meet and care for his beloved pigeon until far later in his years.
This story, as poignant as it is, is not the truth. It’s a philosophical fairy-tale of man and hope, of the soul, the light, and the universe. But, is not based on an actual interview.
Watch the 2001 recording of the play here
– with English subtitles.
Nikola Tesla - Everything is the Light | EEP
