Tesla was responsible for everything from the type of motor in your car to the fob in your pocket. Edison was responsible for the light bulbs -- or are those being replaced by LEDs and CFLs in most people's homes? I like phonographs despite optical disks, hard disks and thumb drives. But Edison was 99% perspiration and a liar to boot. Tesla started working for Edison because of the money he promised, but he later said he was only joking. Tesla's innovations are a key part of everyday life. Edison's were other people's ideas that he refined through brute force and dumb luck, and were interim steps.
Edison did things that people knew could be done, while Tesla did things that people knew couldn't be done. An AC motor was impossible because it defied the laws of physics. How could it spin if the current kept changing directions? Tesla modeled it in his head.
