Nikola Tesla and Thomas Edison were both renowned inventors in the late 19th/early 20th century. Tesla pioneered developments in alternating current and made breakthroughs in wireless energy and X-rays. However, he struggled financially and had eccentric personality traits that made his ideas difficult to understand. In contrast, Edison successfully commercialized inventions like the light bulb and founded research labs, but his focus was more on business than discovery. Their competition highlighted tensions between scientific progress and profit motives, with Tesla's unrecognized visions ultimately leading to his decline.