Life in America On arrival to the US, Tesla was introduced to Thomas Edison via letter from one of his aquaintances. Edison was a developer of Direct Current (DC) and held a tight monopoly on it. Tesla by contrast pushed for Alternating Current (AC), which Edison viewed as competition. Opposing ideas and disputes eventually pushed Tesla to leave and found his own company.  In 1888, Tesla went to work for George Westinghouse to further develope his AC motor design. Edison competed heavily with AC power, going as far as demostrating its dangers by publically electrocuting animals.  However, in 1893, Westinghouse outbid Edison to light up the World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago, which gave them the opportunity to display Alternating Current at its best.    Thomas Edison                                           George Westinghouse Building from the World Columbian Exposition, Chicago