Tesla and Space X CEO Elon Musk made a generous donation of $1 million for a Tesla Science Museum in Shoreham.
The billionaire owner of Tesla and Space X, Elon Musk, donated $1 million to a science museum in Shoreham, New York, preserving the last memory of Nikola Tesla's lab site. In addition to that, Musk also pledged one of his company's Supercharger electric-car charging points to the upcoming Tesla Science Center. The announcement was made Thursday, July 10, on the occasion of Nikola Tesla's 158th birthday.
Musk's donation comes after Matt Inman, The Oatmeal cartoonist, sought help from the billionaire entrepreneur to help fund the construction of the Tesla Science Center, earlier this year. The museum will be built on the site where Nikola Tesla started a project in 1901 but never completed it. Inman started an Indiegogo fundraiser to help a non-profit purchase of the 16-acre property in 2012. The campaign successfully raised $1.6 million to buy the property. But more funds were needed for the construction of the museum.
Inman estimates the total cost of building the Tesla Science Center will be $8 million. The museum will serve as a learning center that can host school field trips, educational conferences, workshops, science competitions and more, according toLongIsland.com.
"He has challenged us at the Center to use our resources wisely, find additional resources, and reach our goal of creating this museum," Jane Alcorn, president of the Tesla Science Center at Wardenclyffe, said in a statement published on Facebook. "We are excited and extremely grateful for Mr. Musk's generous gift to Tesla Science Center, and also to Matthew Inman for arranging the opportunity," she said.
Nikola Tesla started a project at the last known site of his laboratory to transmit energy and information around the world wirelessly. Tesla pioneered the A/C electricity, radio transmission and AC Induction motor, which is used in today's Tesla Model S electric car.
