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Timeline

Tesla (2016) Timeline Explained – Every Event in Order

Release, runtime and language
2016 · 54 mins · English
JustWatch #19,024 15
Directed by
David Grubin
Starring
Michael Murphy, Nikola Tesla

This film explores the life of Nikola Tesla, a brilliant engineer and inventor who fundamentally changed the electrical landscape of the 20th century. Though often overshadowed by figures like Edison and Marconi, Tesla’s pioneering vision laid the groundwork for modern wireless technology. The story delves into the complex nature of his genius, revealing how his boundless imagination and unconventional methods contributed to both his groundbreaking innovations and personal struggles, ultimately shaping his legacy.

On this page (5)
  1. 1 Where to watch
  2. 2 Events in order (12)
  3. 3 Timeline questions answered
  4. 4 Movie threads
  5. 5 Every angle

Where to watch

Where to Watch Tesla (2016)

Where can you watch Tesla? Stream, rent or buy it in the US, including on Amazon Video, Apple TV Store and Google Play Movies: current JustWatch availability with up-to-date prices.

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12 events in order · contains spoilers

Tesla Timeline: Events in Chronological Order

Every key event of Tesla (2016) in order, scene by scene, with when and where it takes place. Use it to untangle flashbacks, time jumps and parallel storylines, to refresh your memory before the sequel or to find the exact scene you are thinking of.

  1. Tesla's Childhood and First Encounter with Electricity

    As a young child, Nikola Tesla saw a flash of electricity when petting his cat, hinting at his future fascination with the power. This early experience sparked his curiosity and set him on the path to become an inventor and scientist. The narrator suggests that Tesla's innate sensitivity to electricity was a recurring theme throughout his life.

  2. Tesla Arrives in New York City, 1884

    In 1884, Tesla begins working in New York City for Thomas Edison, who doesn’t seem to regard him highly. Tesla faces struggles and financial hardships during this period, but remains determined to develop his ideas despite Edison's dismissiveness. Tensions between Tesla and Edison begin to develop as they compete over electrical inventions.

    When
    1884
    Where
    New York City
  3. Tesla Presents His Motor Inventions

    Tesla pitches his induction motor to potential investors, receiving high praise for his innovation. With the support of his friend Anthony Szigeti, Tesla begins working on his motor, aiming to revolutionize electrical engineering. His inventions begin to gain recognition within the scientific community.

  4. Meeting Anne Morgan and JP Morgan's Support

    Tesla meets Anne Morgan, the daughter of financier JP Morgan, and later presents his findings to her father. Impressed by Tesla's ideas, Morgan invests in Tesla's inventions, providing crucial financial backing. This support helps Tesla move forward with his groundbreaking work on electrical systems.

  5. Westinghouse Buys Tesla’s Patents

    George Westinghouse purchases Tesla’s patents for his electrical inventions and brings Tesla to Pittsburgh to oversee production. The rivalry between Tesla’s alternating current and Edison’s direct current heats up, with Edison championing the latter. Tesla’s AC system begins to demonstrate its potential as a viable power supply.

    Where
    Pittsburgh
  6. Edison’s Direct Current vs. Tesla’s Alternating Current

    Edison dismisses Tesla’s AC system, insisting direct current is superior and campaigning against Tesla’s technology. Despite the opposition, Tesla’s alternating current gains acceptance, especially after powering the 1893 World’s Fair. The technological race between the two systems becomes a central theme of their rivalry.

    When
    1893
  7. Edison’s Failed Electric Execution Event

    William Kemmler becomes the first person to be executed using electric induction, but the process is gruesomely botched, damaging Edison’s reputation. Edison blames the doctors and attempts to discredit Tesla’s electrical systems, intensifying the public debate over electric power.

  8. Tesla’s Success at the World’s Fair

    In 1893, Tesla’s alternating current is successfully used to power the World’s Fair, showcasing its safety and efficiency. Edison’s efforts to discredit AC are overshadowed by its impressive performance. This event marks a turning point, establishing Tesla’s technology as a leading electrical system.

    When
    1893
    Where
    Chicago
  9. Tesla’s Move to Colorado and the Tesla Coil

    Tesla relocates to Colorado, where he develops the Tesla coil. His invention demonstrates powerful electrical discharges, but also causes accidents, such as blowing up a local generator. Tesla offers to pay for damages, showing his commitment to his innovations despite setbacks.

    Where
    Colorado
  10. Tesla’s Meeting with JP Morgan and Funding

    Tesla showcases his technological potential to JP Morgan, convincing him to invest $100,000 in his projects. Despite skepticism from Morgan, Tesla’s ideas about using his machines to benefit the world begin to gain traction. Tesla’s ambitious visions continue to drive his research forward.

  11. Tesla’s Brain Wave Mapping and Excessive Ambition

    Tesla discusses developing technology to map brain waves for mind control and signals from Mars, showcasing his increasingly visionary and experimental ideas. These pursuits highlight his desire to push the boundaries of science, even as some see his ambitions as overreach. Tesla’s reputation as a pioneering scientist is solidified.

  12. Tesla’s Later Years and Isolation

    As Tesla’s inventions and ambitions grow more ambitious, he becomes increasingly isolated. He moves to the French countryside to work on health initiatives for children and away from the electrical world he once aimed to revolutionize. He eventually dies alone at the age of 87, reflecting on a life of groundbreaking yet often overlooked achievements.

    When
    Later years
    Where
    French countryside

Last updated: August 05, 2025 at 06:58

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Timeline questions answered

Tesla Timeline Explained: Your Questions Answered

When does it happen, and why in that order? The questions people ask about the chronology of Tesla (2016): time jumps, flashbacks, cause and effect between scenes and the correct order of events, each answered with spoilers.

Q1

Why did Tesla and Edison become rivals?

Tesla and Edison became rivals primarily over the competing electrical technologies they championed. Edison firmly believed in direct current (DC), which he had developed and patented, while Tesla advocated for alternating current (AC), which offered significant advantages in power transmission over long distances. Their conflict intensified as each man sought to establish his preferred system as the standard for electrical power distribution.

  • tesla
  • edison
  • rivalry
  • alternating current
  • direct current
  • electricity war
Q2

What was the difference between AC and DC current?

Direct current (DC) flows in one direction and was Edison's preferred system, while alternating current (AC) changes direction periodically and could transmit power over much greater distances with less energy loss. Tesla's AC system proved superior for powering homes and businesses across long distances, which ultimately made it the global standard despite Edison's aggressive campaign to discredit it as dangerous.

  • alternating current
  • direct current
  • AC
  • DC
  • electrical power
  • tesla
  • edison
Q3

What happened during William Kemmler's execution?

William Kemmler became the first person executed using an electric chair in 1890, and the execution was brutally botched, taking several minutes of repeated jolts to kill him. Edison exploited this tragedy to claim that Tesla's alternating current was dangerously lethal, using it as propaganda against AC technology despite the fact that the electric chair actually used direct current.

  • william kemmler
  • electric chair
  • execution
  • edison
  • alternating current
Q4

Was Tesla's relationship with Anne Morgan real?

The relationship between Tesla and Anne Morgan appears to be largely fictionalized for the film. While Anne Morgan was indeed the daughter of financier JP Morgan, there is no historical evidence of a romantic relationship between her and Tesla. The film uses this narrative device to explore Tesla's personal life and his connection to his primary financial backer.

  • anne morgan
  • tesla
  • jp morgan
  • relationship
  • romance
Q5

Why did JP Morgan invest in Tesla?

JP Morgan invested $100,000 in Tesla because he saw potential profit in Tesla's electrical inventions and ambitious technological ideas. Morgan was intrigued by Tesla's vision for transforming global electricity and his claims about developing devices that could potentially transmit signals, including those that might originate from Mars. Morgan's investment provided crucial financial support during a period when Tesla struggled to find backers.

  • jp morgan
  • tesla
  • investment
  • funding
  • patents
Q6

Why did Tesla die alone?

Tesla died alone at age 87 in New York City because he had outlived most of his contemporaries, including Edison, Westinghouse, and his financial backers. Throughout his life, Tesla prioritized his work and inventions over personal relationships, becoming increasingly isolated in his later years as his ambitions grew more grandiose and his financial situation deteriorated.

  • tesla death
  • legacy
  • isolation
  • died alone
Q7

What happened during Tesla's Tesla coil demonstration in Colorado?

Tesla's demonstration of his Tesla coil in Colorado produced spectacular electrical discharges that impressed onlookers but also caused accidents, including blowing up a local power generator. Despite these mishaps, Tesla continued his experiments, offering to pay for damages. The demonstration showcased the potential of his wireless electricity concepts but also revealed the dangers of his unorthodox methods.

  • tesla coil
  • colorado
  • demonstration
  • electricity
  • experiment
Q8

Why did Tesla claim to receive signals from Mars?

Tesla became increasingly obsessed with the idea of communicating with extraterrestrial life, believing he had detected signals from Mars using his electrical equipment. This represented one of his more controversial and eccentric pursuits, as he pushed the boundaries of scientific exploration into territories many considered speculative or even delusional. These ambitions contributed to his growing isolation from the scientific establishment.

  • mars
  • signals
  • extraterrestrial
  • tesla
  • ambition
  • wireless communication
Q9

How did Tesla's AC system win at the 1893 World's Fair?

Tesla's alternating current system was chosen to power the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago, where it successfully lit the entire fairgrounds. This event proved that AC was safe, efficient, and capable of powering large-scale events, effectively winning the technological war against Edison's direct current. The success marked a turning point in public perception and established AC as the dominant electrical system.

  • worlds fair
  • chicago 1893
  • alternating current
  • tesla
  • exposition
Q10

Why was Tesla's contributions forgotten for so long?

Tesla's contributions were overshadowed partly because of Edison's greater fame and influence in America, as well as Tesla's own inability to maintain business relationships and his increasingly eccentric behavior. Additionally, financial troubles and the destruction of his laboratory set back his work. The narrator notes that searching for Tesla yields far fewer results than Edison, highlighting how history often favors those with better public relations and business acumen.

  • tesla legacy
  • forgotten
  • edison
  • recognition
  • history
Q11

What role did George Westinghouse play in Tesla's career?

George Westinghouse purchased Tesla's patents for his electrical inventions and brought Tesla to Pittsburgh to oversee production of his AC systems. Westinghouse became Tesla's primary financial backer in the AC versus DC battle, providing the resources needed to compete against Edison's well-established company. However, the financial strain of the "War of Currents" eventually forced Westinghouse to sell many of Tesla's patents.

  • george westinghouse
  • tesla
  • patents
  • AC
  • alternating current
  • partnership
Q12

What was Tesla's childhood encounter with electricity?

As a young boy in Europe, Tesla experienced a vivid flash of electricity while petting his cat, an event the film presents as foreshadowing his lifelong fascination with electrical energy. This childhood moment suggests an innate connection to electricity that would define his future work as one of history's most innovative inventors.

  • tesla childhood
  • electricity
  • cat
  • origin
  • inspiration

Movie threads

More Movies Like Tesla, by Mood & Story

Curated lists built around what makes Tesla tick: the same mood, the same kind of story or the same emotional payoff. Each list explains why these movies belong together.

Movies about unrecognized genius like Tesla

Stories of brilliant minds whose revolutionary ideas come at a personal cost. Explore movies like Tesla that delve into the lives of brilliant but misunderstood figures. These films share a melancholic and thoughtful tone, charting the journey of innovators, artists, and scientists whose contributions were overshadowed by their personal struggles or the era they lived in.

  • thoughtful
  • melancholic
  • admiring
  • lonely
  • ponderous
  • resigned
  • Tone: melancholic, reflective
  • Pacing: steady, character-driven
Why these movies?

The story pattern: Narratives in this thread typically follow a biographical or character-driven arc, chronicling the rise and struggles of a uniquely gifted individual. The central conflict is often between the character's visionary ideals and the pragmatic, often hostile, world they inhabit. The journey is marked by professional rivalry, financial hardship, and a deep sense of personal sacrifice, leading to a bittersweet legacy.

Why they belong together: Movies are grouped here based on their shared thematic focus on intellectual isolation and the high price of innovation. They possess a similar reflective mood, a steady pacing that allows for deep character study, and a tone that balances admiration for achievement with the melancholy of personal cost.

Bittersweet biographical movies similar to Tesla

Historical accounts that celebrate achievement while mourning personal loss. If you liked the reflective and bittersweet journey in Tesla, you'll appreciate these similar biographical movies. They explore historical figures with a steady, thoughtful pace, focusing on the mix of professional triumph and personal hardship that defines a complex legacy.

  • reflective
  • bittersweet
  • historical
  • ponderous
  • resigned
  • admiring
  • Tone: melancholic, bittersweet
  • Pacing: steady, reflective
Why these movies?

The story pattern: These stories often unfold in a linear, chronological fashion, but are framed by a reflective or questioning perspective. The narrative doesn't shy away from the subject's flaws and downfalls, creating a more honest and human portrait. The emotional arc is not one of unmitigated triumph but of a legacy forged through struggle, ending with a poignant mix of sadness for what was lost and respect for what was accomplished.

Why they belong together: This grouping is defined by a specific emotional mix: a steady, deliberate pacing combined with a melancholic tone and a bittersweet conclusion. The movies share a medium emotional weight, providing a thoughtful and impactful viewing experience that honors complexity over simplicity.

Every angle

Tesla (2016) Explained: Plot, Timeline & Characters

Everything about Tesla in one place: what happens in the plot summary, the timeline in chronological order, the characters and meaning and a spoiler-free summary. What's After the Movie adds the cast, box office and post-credit scenes.

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