Will Elon Musk fund a Nikola Tesla museum? | CNN Business

The Oatmeal, Elon Musk and a Tesla museum —

Nikola Tesla (1856-1943) was a Serbian-American engineer and unsung inventor who helped pioneer the use of electricity, among other achievements. A campaign is underway, aided by entrepreneur Elon Musk, to turn Tesla's last remaining laboratory into a museum.

Herbert Barraud/Hulton Archive/Getty Images

Cartoonist Matthew Inman, founder of humor website <a href="http://theoatmeal.com/" target="_blank" target="_blank">The Oatmeal</a>, has celebrated Tesla online and in 2012 launched a <a href="https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/let-s-build-a-goddamn-tesla-museum--5" target="_blank" target="_blank">crowdfunded effort</a> to save Tesla's last remaining laboratory.

The Oatmeal, Elon Musk and a Tesla museum —

Cartoonist Matthew Inman, founder of humor website The Oatmeal, has celebrated Tesla online and in 2012 launched a crowdfunded effort to save Tesla's last remaining laboratory.

Amy E. Price/Getty Images for SXSW

Inman's <a href="http://theoatmeal.com/comics/tesla" target="_blank" target="_blank">online paean to Tesla</a> praised him for inventing an alternating-current electrical system but claimed he was overshadowed by rival Thomas Edison, who received credit for inventing the light bulb. "Without question, Tesla was a genius," he wrote.

The Oatmeal, Elon Musk and a Tesla museum —

Inman's online paean to Tesla praised him for inventing an alternating-current electrical system but claimed he was overshadowed by rival Thomas Edison, who received credit for inventing the light bulb. "Without question, Tesla was a genius," he wrote.

From The Oatmeal

Inman's campaign raised more than $1.3 million to buy the site of <a href="http://www.cnn.com/2012/08/21/tech/innovation/tesla-museum-campaign/">Tesla's former Wardenclyffe laboratory</a> in Shoreham, New York, on the north coast of Long Island.

The Oatmeal, Elon Musk and a Tesla museum —

Inman's campaign raised more than $1.3 million to buy the site of Tesla's former Wardenclyffe laboratory in Shoreham, New York, on the north coast of Long Island.

Courtesy of Tesla Science Center

The Oatmeal, Elon Musk and a Tesla museum —

Now Inman is trying to raise money to renovate the old Tesla lab and turn it into a museum. In a comic strip earlier this year, he made a plea to Elon Musk, founder of Tesla Motors, which is named for Nikola Tesla. Musk is seen here with then-California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger at a Tesla Motors event in 2008.

Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

The Oatmeal, Elon Musk and a Tesla museum —

On Thursday, Tesla's birthday, Inman wrote that Musk, who is also CEO of private spaceflight company SpaceX, pledged $1 million to the cause.

Bloomberg via Getty Images

The Oatmeal, Elon Musk and a Tesla museum —

Hours after Inman's Tesla S review and plea, Musk sent a Twitter message saying he would "would be happy to help." Thursday, Inman said he made good on the promise.

@Oatmeal

The Oatmeal, Elon Musk and a Tesla museum

Story highlights

Unsung inventor Nikola Tesla lived from 1856 to 1943

A campaign is underway to turn his former laboratory into a museum

Cartoonist Matthew Inman asked Elon Musk for $8 million donation

Musk tweeted that he is "happy to help"

CNN —

Inventor Nikola Tesla may have died alone and broke, but he has powerful friends who want to preserve his legacy.

Cartoonist Matthew Inman, the brain behind “The Oatmeal,” is one. Using his popular web comic, Inman launched an effort to turn Tesla’s former laboratory in Shoreham, New York, into a museum.

Tesla, who lived from 1856 to 1943, developed the basis for AC power, among other ideas and innovations that have shaped our lives. He obtained more than 100 patents, according to the Tesla Memorial Society of New York. Inman partnered with the Tesla Science Center at Wardenclyffe, a nonprofit group, to generate widespread interest in a museum.

The cartoonist sang the inventor’s praises in a humorous, profane comic hailing Tesla as superior to the better-known Thomas Edison (“Basically, Tesla = Nicest. Inventor. EVER,” Inman wrote).